


King takes Queen

by Lust_Demon



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Plug and Play Sexual Interfacing, Spark Sex, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Unfinished
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-04-03 13:11:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4102237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lust_Demon/pseuds/Lust_Demon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Catching a Seeker is easy. Keeping one, is another story altogether.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fussy fliers

**Author's Note:**

> This is just utter crack, because I love the idea of Screamer and Optimus together. I wrote it up at work so there's no beta, sorry

The fact that they actually caught Starscream was nothing less than miraculous. He was the second in command, easily the fastest flier, not to mention full of tricks to keep him out of servos reach. When he'd been wounded, the Prime had seen that Megatron hadn't paid it any notice and he'd grabbed the opportunity with both servos. Quite literally in this case because he'd broken away from the fighting to snatch Starscrean and called the retreat. Not a normal thing for Autobots to do, but Megatron hadn't pressed after them.  

Although he was stoic as always in the meeting afterwards, Optimus could tell that Prowl was ready to crow because they finally had a heavy bargaining chip in their favor. Starscream had been patched up quickly and then gently placed in the brig with Ironhide there to watch him and make sure nothing happened. 

Prime didn't allow himself to gloat, it was unseemly of someone in his station and bad manners to boot. He did, however, enjoy some Highgrade with the troops as they celebrated. A cube was taken down to Ironhide and Prowl stayed with him for a spell to make sure that no one woke the prisoner or got too rambunctious around the cell. 

Skyfire was a little jumpy, but delighted at the prospect of being able to talk to his old friend and perhaps turning him over to their side. He'd even asked, several times, if he could guard Starscream, but until they were sure of the Seeker being more or less harmless Optimus didn't want Skyfire alone with him. 

It was the morning after the celebration that the Prime wondered if, perhaps, they were in over their helms with trouble. He'd woken up covered in party streamers, to a loud knocking on his door.

"Prime, I consider myself to be a reasonable, patient mech."

Optimus looked at Ironhide but wisely kept his Vocalizer off. Leaning on the doorframe, he rubbed at his temples and gestured for Ironhide to continue talking. 

"If I have to be down there with him any longer, I might put his helm through a wall."

That sounded a bit more like Ironhide. Optimus nodded in time with the list of complaints that the red mech had, patiently waiting as he was told about how Starscream wouldn't stop talking and how verbally abusive the Seeker was. Not the language, but his pitch making the weapons specialist have aching audials. And couldn't Skyfire watch the Seeker instead?  

"I understand your pain Ironhide. If you can handle the next hour with him, I'll come down and relieve you myself. I have to have words with our captive regardless." Optimus promised. 

Ironhide looked like he might weep from relief and he stepped back so he could salute, a grateful smile on his faceplate.  Optimus watched him walk away and vented quietly. Of course the prisoner wouldn't be amiable to being with them but he hasn't expected Ironhide to come to him so soon with complaints. But, he was the Prime and he could deal with this. 

Stopping over to his office, Optimus picked up some data pads that he would need to look over and put in a comm to Prowl that he would be with the prisoner if anything came up. A morning cube of energon in his free servo and he was on his way with a skip in his step. He made his way to the brig with a little hum in his vocalizer, juggling his data pads momentarily so he could key in the code that would unlock the doors. 

The doors were barely open an inch before he was hit by the wall of unabashed vocals of the Decepticon second in command. 

"That had -better- be someone coming with food!  Bad enough that you -abuse- me by sticking me in some dark, airless cell with no sort of windows so I can see outside!  Bad enough that you -leer- at my wing span all the time like I'm some buy bot!  But here you are starving me too, and you're supposed to be the noble Autobots!  Barbarians!  There's not even a heat tarp in this Primus forsaken room that you're keeping me in.  I expect that sort of cruelty out of Megatron, but you're supposed to be better than him?  Unbelievable!  Let me talk to your Prime immediately I want to tell him what a travesty--"

"Prime!" Ironhide looked up when he came in and all but bolted out the door, slapping him on the back and telling him 'good luck'.

"Starscream. If you'll take a step back from the bars, I'll be happy to give you some energon." Prime nodded to him, optics brightening as he smiled beneath his face mask. 

"I'm not hungry!" Starscream grit his denta, turning his back on Prime and lifting his wings up proudly.

"Well alright then,I'lI just drink it myself." 

"You do that."

"I just have a few things to go over with you before we hail Megatron for negotiations of surrender--"

"Don't be simple. Megatron won't surrender. He'll come barreling in and free me."

"You believe he will take on our entire base to rescue you?" Optimus made a small note on a data pad. He thought it was unlikely, but if Starscream thought so, he would make note of it to Prowl so they could alter their defenses. 

"Of course he would!  I'm important to him. To his plans of conquest." 

Optimus paused briefly, looking at the suddenly tense wings and decided not to press the matter. 

"Regardless, you'll be back home soon." Optimus said before sipping the cube he'd carried down. He glanced up to see that Starscream had turned slightly to watch him and clicked the datapad to turn it on. 

"Maybe I am hungry." The Seeker shifted, one servo dropping to brush against his thigh. 

The Prime knew well enough to know that Starscream was too proud to ask for the cube directly. Getting up from his seat, he moved to the bars and paused, waiting for Starscream to step back so he could deactivate the electrified bars. He watched with interest as Starscream's wings lifted and twitched then pushed away from his back. 

"Stop oogling me like that." Starscreams words came out quickly, his frame shifting away from the bars and his servos clenching into fists. 

"I apologize. I meant no disrespect. I've never seen a Seeker up close... Except in battle. I've never been able to appreciate your wings." 

"Appreciate them from your own side of the bars!"

There was a flare of panic in his vocals that hadn't been there a moment ago and Optimus took a step back, confused but not wanting to agitate the Seeker further. 

"When Ironhide was here, you told him you wished to speak with me. If you have any concerns about your cell, you can tell me now and we'll do what we can to accommodate you.  To a point."

The Seekers chin lifted proudly and he folded his arms as he made a small list of demands. Optimus found it as amusing as he did his level best to remain detached, listening to the requests and making his own list of what would be automatically allowed and what might be bartered for information and what was entirely out of the question. He would occasionally nod, moving over to his seat once more to finish his cube of energon. He noticed that Starscream licked his lips as he watched him drink but the Seeker stubbornly refused to ask for the cube. 

 


	2. Enter rook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starscream is a pain in the aft to try to write for, I s2g. I'm trying to make the chapter's a bit longer but it's not always working out in my favor. Again, it's not beta'd and I apologize for that. Cacaphonia mentioned that they think Starscream is bluffing about Megatron wanting him back and that's going to be going into detail soonish. Not in this chapter though.  
> Thank you to my friends who have helped me come up with various trashy romance titles!

Starscream vented heavily, resisting the urge to get up and pace again. The Prime had actually come down to speak with him, which surprised him. Certainly he had expected to see him eventually but not the first day. He'd expected gloating too but he didn't get that either. Well, unless he counted Ironhide when he'd initially been there to watch him. It had actually been kind of fun to nitpick every little detail of his capture to drive the annoying red mech out of his sight. But now he was being watched by Prowl, who he suspected had turned his audials off, because no one was this perfectly immune to his taunting. 

He was bored nearly to tears and his wings felt cramped even though they had enough room behind him to shift and stretch. Taking a cursory glance in Prowl's direction, he turned so his back was to a wall and started to stretch, his servos linking together over his helm and pulling his arms up and to the sides in an attempt at getting some energy burned off. Before he could really stop himself, he was up and pacing again, wings twitching in agitation. The last time he'd been this immobilized, aside from Megatron's own punishments, was when he was science was the only interest he pursued. 

"Hey... You with the fake wings." Starscream called out abruptly, ruby optics settling on Prowl, trying his best to ignore the nubbins that the patrol car called 'door wings'.

"I have a name." Prowl commented dryly, not bothering to look up from his data pad.

"Yes, well, all you Grounders look the same to me." 

It might have been said without a touch of malice, but Starscream still managed to make a sweet tone sound like it was full of venom. Prowl frowned as he looked up at him, hating the smile on the others faceplates. He put down his data pad and folded his servos over it, staring the flier down until Starscream's wings actually began to droop.

"Can't you let me have a data pad or something? Prime said he would look into getting me -something- and I'm getting bored out of my processor." 

Prowl winced when a whining tone entered Starscream's vocalizer and he prepared himself for a tirade of demands or at the very least to be accosted by sparkling like crying. Not that he would admit that he thought the others maturity was so low. He didn't want to deal with a huffy Seeker. Thankfully, however, Starscream didn't seem to be in a mood to argue. He just wanted something to occupy his time. 

"When is Prime going to contact Megatron? He's going to want to see that I'm unharmed you know." 

The Seekers wings lifted up proudly and he flicked them behind him, assumably to try to get any dirt off them since he didn't have a cleaning cloth to buff himself off with. Prowl recognized the fidgeting, had seen Ironhide move similarly before he opened up a channel to talk to Chromia. Whether it was because the Seeker was being prideful or because he thought he needed to look good for Megatron would remain to be seen and Prowl wanted to be there for the call they would put in to the Decepticon leader. Any information he could gather was a bit more they could use against the Decepticons after all. 

"I'm sure he'll be contacting Megatron within the cycle. If you want to be there, that can be arranged." Prowl remarked quietly, looking at his data pad again. "I trust we don't need to tell you to keep quiet though?"

"As if I have any information that I can give back to Megatron right now." 

"No, we're just really getting tired of listening to you."

Prowl smirked, hearing the clicking of the Seekers wings as they rose up and twiddled behind him, an indignant scoff coming from Starscream. Maybe it was a little petty, but every once in a while it felt good to rib a Decepticon. The tactician was running down a list of exchanges they could make with Megatron, conditional surrender orders since he knew that outright ordering the Decepticons wouldn't work, and Optimus still touted that Freedom was the Right of all sentient beings. Even if they were going to end the war, the losing side would still be allowed to live and given a closely watched city. Or something along those lines. Prowl just had to go over the list of cities on Cybertron that might still be viable for living in, which would hold the least possibility of inciting rebellions based on location, history and --

"Autobot, you're not listening again." Starscream fumed at him.

"That's because I have more important things to do than entertain a Deception." Prowl remarked mildly. 

"Its not entertaining, its common courtesy. Now about those data pads?" 

"I think it goes without saying that you're not getting anything that has information on it regarding--"

"So give me a copy of a trashy romance novel that I can pick apart and laugh at, at least that will help me from going crazy." Starscream vented and leaned against a wall, wings bending away from it as he tried to get comfortable. 

Prowl smiled at that idea and nodded before putting in a comm. Starscream was side eying him hard for giving in so easily, but he wasn't going to argue if it meant he could have something to occupy him besides the empty walls. He wiggled his wings and grunted quietly, trying to get comfortable in the barren little cell. Every minute seemed to drag on forever and he was starting to think that scrubbing down the decontamination unit in the medical ward would be more fun than where he was at. There weren't even ceiling tiles that he could count. He could count the amount of miniscule dents on Prowl's armor, but that would require looking at him for an extended period of time. He didn't even have the pleasure of venting because Prowl was insufferable and refused to listen to him. It almost made him wish that Ironhide was there again. At least the red mech would snarl back at him occasionally.

He was debating trying to pry up pieces of the floor to throw at Prowl through the bars when the entrance to the brig slid open. Starscream's optics widened as he saw a massive mech bending to enter the room, needing to stoop a bit in order to pass a pile of data pads to Prowl. Once they were handed over, the perpetually cheerful shuttle turned his attention to Starscream. 

"Despite the circumstances, its good to see you again." Skyfire smiled at him warmly, as if nothing untoward had passed between them. 

"Sentimental mech." Starscream muttered quietly, glaring at the floor as if it had been the one to betray him. 

"I am. I'd like to talk if you're open to it."

Starscream stiffened and turned his back to the bars, wings flaring out like a shield. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Maybe later then." 

Skyfire's tone had dropped and Starscream didn't have to look to know there was pain on the others features. Good, let him be upset. It wasn't even an inkling of what he'd felt when Skyfire took up with the Autobots. He listened to the heavy ped steps that went back out the door and grit his denta, wishing it didn't bother him so much that he cared. 

“Wait.” 

He heard the ped steps stop and turned himself just enough that he could look over his shoulder, wings lowering a bit to make it easier to see the other’s expression when he turned. If it wasn’t for the bars in the way, it would have felt like a thousand times in the past when he’d called out to Skyfire as the other had been leaving their lab. A shiver ran up his spinal strut when he saw that recognition in the flash of Skyfire’s optics and Starscream rapidly strummed his fingers on his upper arm. Having the other flier there, even if it was on the other side of the bars, made it easier to take his mind off the fact that he couldn’t get outside and spread his wings properly. It helped him to forget that the other end of the trine bond was worryingly silent. He needed to find a way back to the Nemesis, and as much as it made him uncomfortable, Skyfire might be his best bet to getting out of the brig.

“Those data pads. Do you still have Free Falling for the Seeker?” Starscream dipped his head, optics dimming as he spoke.

  
“Yeah. It was terrible, but I just had to keep it.” 

He could hear Skyfire making himself comfortable on the floor and he felt his spark contract at the tenderly spoken words. He hated that Prowl was so close by, listening to their conversation even if they weren’t getting into anything personal yet. He heard the slide of metal across the floor and tensed up when large fingers curled across his servo. Looking to the side where it rested, he swallowed back the instinctive venomous words that would have Skyfire walking back out the door. Prowl wasn’t telling him to stop yet, so he turned his servo over so they could clasp servos, digits twisting together. It had to hurt to reach through the bars like that, but there was no smell of melting metal so Skyfire had to have arranged himself safely.

“I’ve missed you, Star…” 

He sounded so pitiful but his grip was strong, as if he could hold the Seeker there by strength of will alone. Starscream swallowed again, realizing that Skyfire still believed that he could be turned around. That he could be made to care about the humans, give up the Decepticon cause and all of his dreams. 

“Read me that terrible story, would you?” Starscream squeezed his hand in return.


	3. King moves forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so it should be noted, MegaStar is a sort of thing here. It isn't even remotely healthy and Starscream is going to make excuses for Megatron, not just in this chapter but in others to follow. Hopefully that doesn't creep people out too much.

The sight that Optimus entered to was odd but rather sweet. Prowl was half listening to the two fliers discussing some romance novel, the third in command clicking away at a data pad that he'd brought with him. Skyfire had an arm stretched into the cell through the space in the bars and was speaking quietly, his optics fixated on Starscream as if there was no one else in the universe. Starscream would occasionally speak up, but his tone was somber and utterly unfamiliar to the Prime. Every once in a while he could see Starscream's lips would twitch with a smile, melting away the stress that the Seeker had resting on his wings. Skyfire would occasionally slip from the more common neocybex to vosnian in the midst of their conversation and Starscream would respond back in kind with a sort of relief in his vocalizer, even if it was softer than his normal tones.  


"Didn't you say that one day you were going to write a proper flier and grounder romance?" Skyfire teased his old friend with a grin.  


"Primus, you've seen my research papers, do you really think I could turn my style of writing to something romantic?"  


"Maybe not but what you did have was amazing. How did it go? 'His optics were shining like volatile cubes of high grade, ready to burst forth with'."  


"Stop! Stop not in front of the grounder! How am I supposed to be taken seriously if you start quoting dreck that I wrote over a millennium ago?!" Starscream pulled his servo away from Skyfire's so he could cover his face.  


" 'He swept up the slender Seeker in his massive arms, coolant dripping down his chassis, highlighting the shine of his windshield'! " Skyfire laughed as he continued.  


Clearing his vocalizer, Optimus folded his servos behind his back, pretending he didn't see how flustered both of the fliers were. He also politely ignored the fact that Prowl had started snickering. He would talk to him a bit later about appropriate conduct... Although he did have to admit that it was rather funny from an outsider's point of view.  


"Starscream, if you're ready, we can comm Megatron now to start the initial peace negotiations." Optimus couldn't help the small flicker of happiness in his EM field.  


"You want me to go looking like this?!" The Seeker's vocals pitched up, making the two grounders wince. "I'm filthy from being in this cell. Not to mention, when you mech handled me, you left paint transfers on me!"  


Starscream pointed at his hips and Optimus leaned over slightly, straining to see what cosmetic damage he had caused. His inspection was cut short, however, when Starscream clapped his hands over his hips and hissed out an annoyed 'stop staring'. The Prime resisted the urge to rub along the bridge of his nasal plating. They needed to treat Starscream with respect and show the Seeker that a peace could be worked out between the factions. He needed all the patience he could muster and hopefully the short time that they would spend together would plant a seed of trust for the future between them all.  


"I'm sorry, I don't see any marks. But since it's important to you, we can spare a bit of time for you to wash up if it will make you feel better." The Prime nodded.  


"Prime, we don't have to cater to him like this." Prowl frowned in disapproval.  


"It's a small thing to offer and I will be there to make sure Starscream doesn't try to turn a polishing cloth into a weapon." Optimus raised a heavy eyeridge.  


"I might be able to with enough time..."  


"Star, you're not helping." Skyfire admonished his old friend.  


"Starscream can come to my hab suite to freshen up and then we will comm Megatron."  


From the corner of his optic he could see Starscream tensing up and the Seeker half turned towards him with a hard expression on his faceplates. He wasn't sure why exactly he was so grim about the prospect of cleaning up when he'd just claimed that he was dirty and needed to be presentable for Megatron. Optimus moved to the wall where the data plate rested, entering in his codes so the light bars would retract. Prowl got up from his seat as he was doing this, pulling out a small gun and training it on Starscream in case the Seeker decided to attack them. Skyfire was pulling away, a pleading expression as he silently prayed that Starscream would be reasonable and not try to take on the three of them.  


"I'm not certain of your grooming habits but I would ask that you try to keep it short." Optimus slipped a pair of stasis cuffs from behind his back, motioning the Seeker to turn around so he could be constricted again. "The sooner we have these negotiations, the sooner you'll be able to return home."  


"And I'm supposed to trust you." Starscream's ruby optics were narrowing faintly and he clenched his servos at his side, refusing to give the Prime his back just yet.  


"I realize that it is difficult for you." Optimus' tone was a deep rumble, no hint of anguish or impatience there like the Seeker had heard so many times with others. "But I do wish for a peace to be reached, and I think with your help we can have that."  


The Seeker's wings canted upwards and his shoulders pulled back as he looked at the Prime, suspicious but curious. Prowl let his optics slide from his leader to the infuriating Seeker, not sure what to expect and certain that he would need to help Optimus subdue the Decepticon for the meeting. Skyfire was undoubtedly the most tense of them, his expression open, and quietlypleading his friend with wing signals. Optimus had all the patience of the ages and Prowl wasn't sure if it was the weight of the matrix that gave him that or if it was residual traits of Optimus' previous life filtering through. Regardless, Starscream and Optimus watched one another, each of them waiting for the other to give. Prowl recognized that Starscream could have attempted to get out by now, the doors wide open and enough space between each of them that would have made it possible for the Seeker to bolt if he was truly desperate. The third in command relaxed considerably and put a servo on Skyfire's arm to motion him to take a step back. Anything that happened at this point was between their Prime and Starscream. It was interesting to watch to say the least, seeing the pair mirror one another with shifts of weight and peds going back and forth like the start of a spar.  


"Will you come peaceably? Please?" Optimus held the stasis cuffs in one servo, optics bright as he took another step towards the Decepticon.  


Starscream's chin lifted slightly and he let his optics dart to the cuffs, a shudder bolting down his spinal struts. His wings shifted outward as if to make himself look larger, but it was completely ineffective when compared to the massive frame of the Prime. There was a soft hiss of static from his vocals, servos clenching and pulling further away from the Prime and, more importantly, the cuffs. It would be inevitable of course. He would either go willingly and walk or the Prime would beat him and drag him down the hall like Megatron had countless times before.  


And if he allowed himself to be beaten, what else would Megatron think when he saw him?  


"You will not bind my wings." The Seeker started to bring up his servos defensively.  


"No, that will not be necessary. But your hands must be bound while you are among my crew." Optimus replied sternly.  


The distance between them slowly lessened, although Starscream was still watching him like a cornered animal. His digits twitched in time with his wings and Optimus reached his free servo out to him, watching the Seeker's expression as he curled his fingers around the other's wrist. He could feel the rapid sparkbeat under the delicate plating and slipped the cuff on one before Starscream could bolt away, the Prime noting that there was a fury and wildness in the fliers optics. He had to bite back the urge to sooth a hand over the Seeker's servo. Once Starscream was back on the Nemesis, there was a good chance they would never see one another again.  


The second cuff was slipped on and he let his optics rest on the Seeker's wings. Starscream was starting to tense further, a soft rev of his engine telling that he was restraining himself from launching into a tirade.  


"Optimus." Skyfire interrupted the potential outburst with his quiet tone. "Perhaps I should come with you."  


"I don't need a knight." Starscream looked at his old friend, a hint of cruelty edging into his smile. "Unless you think the noble Prime would take advantage of a grounded Seeker."  


Skyfire frowned at this remark and crossed his arms over his sizable chest. Starscream paused when he saw the unfamiliar expression on his old friend's faceplates. He wasn't the type to apologize immediately for his troublesome comments, but the Seeker could silently acknowledge that he'd stepped over a line with Skyfire. The red Seeker's wings slowly lowered and pulled in tight to his frame, imposing on Skyfire and the Prime how much smaller he was than them. Even though he was tense, Starscream allowed the Prime to slide a servo around to his back and guide him out of the brig.  


He was silent but ever prideful as the Prime led him through the halls, grateful that Prowl wasn't going to be there as an additional escort. Skyfire had stayed behind as well and Starscream had to wonder if he should have requested the shuttle stay with him, if only for a feeling of security. Each step down the hall made him more aware of the heavy servo that rested on his shoulder, steering him towards the Prime's private quarters. His wings were pulled tight against his frame in an effort to keep anything sensitive from being touched but the Prime didn't seem to want to let his servos wander. But that didn't mean that he wasn't waiting to get Starscream alone behind locked doors. Perhaps he was a little different from Megatron in that he wanted his debauchery to be private. Starscream could count on one servo the amount of times Megatron had bothered to get them to his hab suite. With him it was hurried interfacing against a wall or on his throne as a reward or a public beating and just as public frag to put him in his place. It was humiliating, but at least with his leader he knew what to expect. And for all his punishing thrusts and demanding ways, Starscream knew that Megatron needed him as much as the Seeker needed him.  


His thoughts were dragged out of his introspection when he heard a set of doors sliding open in front of them. The Prime firmly but gently pushed him to go inside and Starscream could feel his spark spiraling inside his body. He had no idea what to expect from the Autobot leader. He felt like a sparkling being tossed into turbulence and could barely put one ped in front of the other.  


The Prime came to stand in front of him and he felt the warmth of the others fingers against his wrist when the stasis cuffs were unlocked. His weapons were still locked away somewhere, but he wasn't utterly defenseless if the Prime tried something with him.  


"The washracks are just through those doors." Optimus motioned behind him, taking a step back so he was guarding the hab suite door.  


Starscream looked more jittery than before, optics blow wide and shining brightly as he looked for an exit as well as anything that would be a threat. Optimus could guess why he was so nervous, the flier had made a few comments that suggested at sexual things. Despite what the Seeker thought, he wasn't about to take advantage of him. Optimus was just fine with waiting for the Seeker to understand that nothing was going to happen to him. He offered a small smile, though his face mask covered it and just the small crinkle at the corners of his optics let it show. Starscream looked at him curiously and took a step towards the washrack doors, tilting his chin up slightly in defiance.  


"I'm going to close the door." The Seeker said in a challenging tone.  


"Of course. I'll be waiting for you out here."  


There was a moment of confusion on Starscream's face before he spun around and went into the washracks, shutting and then locking the door after him. Optimus couldn't help the pang of pity that swept through him, equally as confused as the Seeker but for vastly different reasons. To his knowledge, none of his Autobots had violated anyone else so he didn't know why Starscream would assume it automatically of him. He dearly hoped that Starscream was just assuming the worst because of paranoia, but if he broached the subject he would surely be snapped at for interfering where he didn't belong. He was the Prime, but the Decepticon's didn't acknowledge that he was supposed to lead their people. It was as humbling as it was frustrating to have so many of his people turned away from him, but it wasn't as though he could blame them after everything that had happened with previous Prime's. Venting quietly, he listened to the soft hiss of water in the next room over, his optics raising up to the ceiling as he recalled the look that Starscream had given him before he'd locked himself away.  


Remembering the comment that the Seeker had made about making a weapon out of a cleaning cloth if he had the time, Optimus winced and did a quick mental tally of what he had in the washracks. Hopefully Starscream wouldn't come out with some sort of weapon improvised out of a bottle of solvent, the pressure shower head and the partition curtain. He didn't think it was possible, but with Starscream, he wasn't sure if he could predict anything.  


It didn't take long for Starscream to finish in the washracks and Optimus was grateful that he came out with just a drying towel and not anything threatening. The Prime stepped towards Starscream, his optics briefly caressing the soft curve of the fliers cockpit when he saw that there was still a few droplets of water there. Starscream looked irritated but he promptly offered his hands to Optimus to cuff them together once more. Taking the drying towel from him, the Prime ignored his hands in favor of helping him to get the last bit of water off his wings.  


"Here, you like to look your best, don't you?"  


"I do." Starscream answered cautiously, spreading his wings out further so Optimus could brush the towel down the joints.  


"Is there anywhere too sensitive for me to touch?"  


Starscream shuddered silently as the soft fabric was curled under one wing and then stroked directly against his back. Swallowing back a moan, he clenched his fists as his EM field coloredwith heat and he started to press back into the touch. Was this the Prime's plan then? To seduce him away from Megatron's side? He could teek hesitance from the Prime's field and the towel drifted inwards to his spinal struts, rubbing the tense metal mesh. The area was sensitive because his wings normally covered it and the Seeker found himself gasping for cooler air when bare fingers ghosted upwards, the towel forgotten on the floor.  


Optimus could feel the heat rolling off the Seeker in waves, his wings flaring out and spine arching under the touch that had started so innocently. He stepped in closer to let their fields meld together better, fingers curling against Starscream's side and feeling down slowly to his hip. It was on the tip of his glossa to say the Seeker's name when he saw that Starscream had turned just enough to look at him. There was that same pride in his ruby optics, but Optimus stopped abruptly when he noted the glimmer of fear there as well. Pulling his servo away, he reset his vocalizer.  


"I... Believe that you look appropriate now, right? We should get going to the communication room."  


He was nearly out the door before he remembered the stasis cuffs.


	4. Queens move

The walk to the bridge was short, if only because the two of them were walking quickly so they could get this all over with. The Prime was trying not to think about his misconduct, knowing he would need to apologize for his behavior before the Seeker left. For the first time in ages, peace was within sight and he didn't want to spoil it by leaving Starscream with bitter memories. As much as his misstep left him confused and embarrassed, he couldn't help but feel hopeful. They could rebuild their world and work together to fix the way things had been in the past. Perhaps he could even see Starscream in the future and the formidable Seeker could impart to him how the Vosnians wished life to be. Compromises could be made, they just needed to fight for it verbally rather than physically like they had been.

"You're in a cloud." Starscream looked at the Prime with a faint frown. "You should pull your processor back and focus on what you're doing." 

"I am thinking about what we're going to do." Optimus replied in a cheerful tone. "Things will finally change for the better. For Autobot and Decepticon alike." 

"You're getting ahead of yourself. You can't know that things will actually work out well. For all you know, we'll have a decaorn of peace and then an assassination will happen, or some small group will get riled up because their voices aren't being heard." 

"That's what we're going to change. We don't need everyone to be the same and conforming to old beliefs, we need everyone to have a voice on a new council. Representatives chosen by their -own- people, to speak for them and able to speak to their people if things aren't picture perfect." The Prime said quietly. He had a long while to think about this and input from several bots that were close to him. He had to have faith that they could work it out. 

"You honestly believe in what you say, don't you?" Starscream sounded a little hesitant, a soft note of some unknown hunger in his vocals. 

"I believe the same way that Megatron believes he is doing what is right." Optimus answered, his tone rough. "In some respects, I can even understand why he's done what he has, but the fact remains that his actions were taken too far." 

"Actions that needed to be taken." Starscream hissed, his ruby optics shining as he slowed to look at the Prime properly. 

"Why don't we discuss that later, when there's more time?" The Prime looked at him, noting the way that the Seeker's wings had pulled up once more and how he stood as if ready to fight despite being bound. 

Starscream's optics narrowed a small margin, a suspicious look on his faceplates. He wasn't used to discussion with his leader, it was always a rule of a steely fist and denial for any questions to be asked. Megatron saw any questions as arguments regardless of how they were phrased or intoned and Starscream was waiting for the Prime to take back his words or simply push them on ahead. Instead, the massive truck former was waiting patiently for his response, watching him not like a predator but like a teacher or an equal. 

The Prime stood there and waited until Starscream nodded, able to read how confused he was. That little seed was planted, though. Whether or not they ended up discussing it, the inkling would be there in the Seeker's processor and that was all the Prime needed for now. Reaching out, he placed a servo on Starscream's elbow to lead him the rest of the way. 

He could feel the Seeker's field flicker against his own briefly, a quiet calmness that he must have perfected over the years. There was nothing to betray what Starscream was thinking now, even his wings and features were still. Optimus figured that the reason behind that was because they were almost to the bridge now and there were more Autobots in the halls. 

Oddly, there wasn't even a prideful stance when he came to stand by the communicator at Optimus' side. It was almost as if the Seeker was trying to blend in with the small group that was there. Jazz and Prowl were waiting for him, along with Blaster and Ironhide. When Optimus looked at Ironhide curiously, the weapons expert just shrugged. 

"I wanna see how this goes." The red mech had a crooked smile on his face when he explained his presence. 

The Prime nodded in agreement and motioned for Blaster to open up the communications between the Ark and the Nemesis. There was a brief moment of static that had everyone's spark racing before Soundwave's image filled the screen. Starscream's stance didn't shift, but his optics dimmed as if he was bored. Before the Prime could make any requests, however, Soundwave spoke up. 

"Megatron: unavailable." 

There was a soft rumble from Starscream's engines and he bared his denta in a smile that made Ironhide wince. "Stop acting like a crankshaft and put him on the communicator." 

"Starscream, please." Optimus put a hand on his wing and gently pulled him back, applying a bit of force when the Seeker tried to step forward again. "I wish to finish this peacefully, so I would appreciate it if everyone could be civil towards one another. Soundwave, this is an important matter. If you could call for Megatron now?" 

"Megatron: does not wish to parley with Autobots." 

"Regardless, a discussion must be had before Starscream can be returned." 

There was a few seconds of silence and the Prime tried to remain patient, his servo still resting on Starscream's wing in case he tried to interrupt. 

"Soundwave: acknowledges." 

Despite the fact that the technopath spoke in a monotone, Optimus couldn't help but think there was some begrudging on Soundwave's part. There was a moment of silence as Soundwave used an internal comm line to call Megatron and then his chin lifted up to note that he was paying attention to the screen in front of him once more. 

"Megatron: will arrive shortly. Stand by." 

The screen switched to a static image of the Decepticon sigil and Ironhide snorted. 

"Well ain't he a ray of starlight on an otherwise dark night." 

"You have no idea." Starscream muttered, his optics still dim and his frame slowly going lax. 

Fairly certain that the Seeker wouldn't try to jump to the fore again, Optimus let him go and folded his servos behind him as he waited for Megatron's arrival. The time for dreams was finally coming to an end. Soon they would be able to have peace and work for resolution rather than revenge. 

Behind him, Starscream was as silent and still as a statue, lost in his processor. It worried him that Megatron was not immediately there, but he could explain that away. Megatron didn't want to appear weak when he'd already lost his second in command to the enemy. The Decepticon leader was trying to shift things to his own advantage and had something planned. Perhaps some sort of distraction so Thundercracker and Skywarp could come to his aide and break him free of the Autobots. 

At the thought of his trine mates, Starscream canted his helm to the side like he was listening for something in the distance. Since the previous night, he had not sensed anything from the bond between himself and his trine mates. Again, something that was easily explained. Since he was held captive, they would have shut their side of the bond in anticipation of torture and he couldnt blame them for that. Once Megatron was hailed, however, they should have been alerted as well so they could reopen the bond and give him their support from a distance. That was likely Soundwave's fault. The deployer seemed to always be looking for some subtle way to undermine him. Folding his captive servos together, he laced his digits as the screen brought up the Decepticon leader. Starscream's brow furrowed slightly when he saw the background wasn't the throne room or command room. It was the med bay. But Megatron hadn't been injured enough to require Hook's assistance. And his leader didn't go down there idly. 

"Megatron, thank you for responding. I'm contacting you to discuss a peace treaty." The Prime lifted his chin, his vocalizer rumbling with authority. 

"And why should I discuss such a thing with you, Optimus Prime?" 

If Optimus was shaken at all by the question, he didn't show it in his stance or his voice. 

"We hold your second in command. He has been treated fairly while here, and if you wish to see him returned, you will discuss this with me." 

"And if I don't want him returned?" 

There was enough silence to hear a glitch mouse skitter across the floor and Starscream swallowed his words that burned to be let out. This was another ploy, another plot like his refusal to immediately come to the comm. He lifted his chin up and looked at Megatron, sure that they could meet one another's optics and he could get a signal to get down before lazer fire shredded into the room. All that he received was a cold glare and he stepped back in confusion, barely hearing the Prime when he told Megatron he was being serious and that it was in his best interest to agree to a treaty. 

"You allowed yourself to be caught, you stayed in the plush company of the Prime rather than escaping. I have no use for you save as a whore, and even in that you're pathetically lacking." Megatron snarled at Starscream, ignoring the Autobots. 

"I never allowed them to catch me! And they kept me in a filthy cell, not some pleasant little hab suite!" Starscream shrieked in denial, his ruby optics wide with true alarm. 

"Yes, I'm very sure that the Prime got you -very- dirty." Megatron scoffed, leaning back from the comm. "If you actually wanted out, if you were a capable second, you would have left by now. Get back to the Nemesis before full dark if you truly wish to stay with me." 

Before anyone could say anything further, the comm was shut off. Optimus had his servos on the back of Blaster's chair, gripping it hard enough to dent. 

"Comm him again." The Prime's vocalizer was cold. 

As Blaster quickly moved to obey, Starscream felt his knees weaken and he stepped back, his optics dropping to the floor. If he hadn't been so fussy about his appearance, Megatron would have believed him. It was his fault for being so stubborn, but he wanted Megatron to see he was untouched. His servos shook when he unlaced his digits, venting coming quick as he cast a quick look around the room. No weapons available unless he tried to rip one away from an Autobot. 

"Sir, they're blocking us on all known frequencies." 

Quickly, Starscream rattled off Megatron's private comm. The one they only used together. He had to forgive him for using it, but he just needed a little more time. He could see Blaster inputting the numbers and continued to shiver, not entirely sure that the shock settling in wasn't just for show now. He had to force the blankness from his processor, he couldn't afford to give in and let himself go dumb now. 

"That one is blocked too..." Blaster shifted in his seat, pity on his face that Starscream wanted to claw off. 

"This isn't happening." His voice rose slightly, covering the soft clicks of the keyboard. 

"This is some sort of trick." Ironhide said in disbelief. "No way bucket-head is gonna let us keep Screamer. He's gotta be coming in for an attack." 

The Seeker vented hastily, willing the Autobots to keep talking as he worked at the cuffs with a piece of metal he'd grabbed from the washracks and hidden between his servos. His shaking had more or less covered what movements he was making, but he couldn't let himself be taken back to a cell. He could hear them debating now. If Megatron was indeed coming, the brig would be the first place they would look for Starscream, so they should hide him elsewhere. Taking a step back, Starscream clamped down on his vocalizer, optics warily watching the suddenly tense Prime. He recognized that stance, the way his knuckles gripped Blaster's chair still was just a prelude to his wrath. No leader liked it when his plans went awry, and here in the room was a useful punching bag. 

"Prowl, take Starscream to the quarantine unit. We'll marshal our defenses and--" 

"The frag?!" Ironhide called out in surprise, interrupting Optimus' directions. 

As soon as Starscream had gotten the cuffs off, he'd moved quickly to slap them on Ironhide and Jazz's wrists. The two had such different fighting styles that they would be thrown off in their initial attempts to grab him. The Seeker wasn't going to stick around and fight, however. He dropped his make shift lock pick and bolted for the door, elbowing some random Autobot in the face when he passed by him, not stopping to see if he'd done any real damage. His peds were barely touching the floor as he activated his thrusters to propel him further. He didn't have time to fight, he needed an exit, and he couldnt even make one since his weapons were taken away. 

It didn't take long for the small group in the comm room to rush after him and his spark was rolling in its casing as he strained himself on the ground. Running long distances was not something a Seeker was used to. A flier wasn't meant to out run a grounder and now he had at least four chasing him down the hallway. 

The relief he felt when he saw an open hangar would have been enough to floor him if he wasn't so desperate. There was barely enough room to transform and his wings left gouges on the walls when he did so, nearly bending parts of his flight panels out of place in the process, but he couldn't think about that. He couldn't think about the fact that his trine bond was still silent. Couldn't think about the fact that he could feel himself passing Skyfire and felt the brush of a confused, worried and sad EM field against his own. He needed to find the Nemesis before it was too late and prove himself to Megatron. They would fight just like always and his leader would give him a backhanded compliment for arriving back at the base and everything would be fine. 

As his cockpit kissed clouds, he finally allowed himself to relax, knowing he could outpace anyone the Autobots sent after him. He'd recall any of the comm lines between himself and the other Decepticon's to let them know he was on route and it would be okay. He'd even stop plotting to overthrow his leader for a full month, maybe two if it would just mean everything would be normal.


	5. Tactical Manuevers

Starscream sped as quickly as he could, cursing himself the entire time. He really should have tried harder. What sort of leader could he ever hope to be if he got caught so easily?  And he surely could have broken past Prowl or Ironhide when he was in the brig. Megatron was right to chastise him, even if his wording had been harsh. Swallowing back a vent, he went over what he would say to the Decepticon leader once he was back on the Nemesis. He would have to work an apology in there of course, but he needed to show Megatron that he wasn't pathetic. It would be rocky goings, balancing between apologizing for his misstep while assuring Megatron it wouldn't happen again. And it wouldn't!  The only thing the Autobots would see of him in the future was his null ray. Once he was equipped with one again.

He hated this feeling of vulnerability. Bad enough he had been unarmed around the Autobots, but now he was at the mercy of any Decepticon that passed him as well. He was Megatron's personal punching bag, but no one would pass up the opportunity to slug him if they saw him flying solo and without weapons. It just meant he needed to go faster. To chart his galactic positioning system for the last know location of the Nemesis and hope that Soundwave hadn't shifted course too much while he was gone. Of course they would have moved a bit. They would have expected the Autobots to pump him for information and moved in order to protect themselves.

His tanks churned as he continued to fly over desert wasteland, looking from side to side expectantly. He'd underestimated just how much space the Autobots had between them and -anything-.  It didn't matter of course. He just needed to be aware of his surroundings and check them against his GPS. He had flown here countless times for battle so how hard could it be to rely on his visual sensors rather than the GPS?  

At the very least there was no one following him so far. He wouldn't have cared if it was an aerial not, but he would have felt a pang of guilt if it was Skyfire again. Bad enough that he had to fight his old friend so shortly after seeing him woken from ice. But he'd just had a chance to start reconnecting. He'd felt the warm pressure of larger fingers engulfing his and that deep, cheerful voice teasing him again. He'd missed it, more than he wanted to admit. He wanted this over so he could go back to that. He could rule Vos with Skyfire as his advisor and they could...

He shook himself from those thoughts and raised himself up so a cloud could skim his plating, cooling down the receptors that were flaring with pain from his transformation inside the too tight spot and the ensuing joints that were wrenched and shoved stuck in an awkward position.

He didn't want Vos, he wanted all of Cybertron.  And it would be Megatron bowing his head as they exchanged ideas, not Skyfire. He'd allowed himself to get soft after such a short time and he didn't know what was wrong with him. Megatron was right, he was weak. But he could be strong again. He just needed to assert himself. He needed to find the Nemesis and make it all right. He needed Megatron's strong hand to give him a little bit of guidance. He grit his denta at the idea, hating his dependence as much as he loved those sparing words of praise, telling him that he was learning quicker.

There was something wrong with him and it had to be the Autobots fault. Skyfire for reminding him of how things had been and Optimus... The Prime was purposefully confusing him with those touches, with the heady flare of desire in his EM field but then refusing to take what he wanted. The two of them had screwed with his processor. He just wanted everything back to normal. There was no reason for him to be so weak.

He brought himself higher into the clouds and let the condensation roll over him as he tried to figure out why his thoughts had altered like this. Was it when the Prime had discussed how he wanted Cybertron to be changed for the better?  No, that was just lip plate service. Optimus Prime could vocalize all he wanted about a regime of true equality, but it was pretty words. The Prime had always been in a position of power, hadn't he?  What did he know about the struggle that Starscream had to go through to be accepted in the sciences academy, even though he was more than smart enough to take the courses.

Venting, the Seeker dipped back down and hovered before transforming, looking around in confusion. If he didn't know better, he would swear that he was back close to the Autobot headquarters once more. Gritting his denta, he started to send out pings along the Decepticon communication lines. His optics dimmed and he let himself drop to the ground as he waited for responses. While he was waiting on an answer, he accessed the internet for a topographical map of the area.

Turning himself in a slow circle, he looked for anything he could use as a landmark before taking to the sky again. He grimaced when he tried to transform back to his alt mode and found that his wings were sticking, keeping him from moving smoothly. That was fine, he could deal with flying in root mode with no problems. He lifted up and hovered as he downloaded the maps he would need, scanning through them quickly and frowning as he turned them over in his processor. Humans made their cartography so oddly. None of the maps gave any indication of an inactive volcano in the area, it was just listed as a mountain.

"It's their planet, you would think they could get that much right." He muttered to himself as he followed the wind, something he was used to doing on Cybertron.

At least the acid rain on this planet wasn't literally an acid that would screw with his sensors though. No matter the weather, he could throw himself into it and enjoy it all. That was one tiny advantage this planet had. It didn't do enough to endear him to it, however. It was still a massive dirt ball that was better off being tossed into a black hole.

He pulled himself from his introspection and turned himself around, raising up in the air and grumbling quietly as used the mostly useless human maps to find his way back towards the water. Perhaps the problem with the comms was the fact that he was too far away and there was some sort of interference that was blocking him. A random meteor coming down from the atmosphere!  That made perfect sense.

His rationalization relaxed him a bit and Starscream hit his thrusters, gritting his denta when it sent a ring of pain through his legs. He ignored it, however and kept them running high. He'd already spent far too much time away from the Nemesis and Megatron was furious. Whatever was wrong would get fixed in the med bay, likely after Megatron doled out his own brand of punishment for Starscream being gone for too long. He wasn't looking forward to it, but it was inevitable. That was just what leaders had to do in order to keep their troops in line.

As he flew, the sun slowly started to set and his spark sank along with it when he realized that no one was answering the comms. His bond with his trine mates was still silent and he had to count his vents as he flew onward, his thrusters nearly searing with pain now. It didn't matter, however. Megatron was just bluffing. He wouldn't throw him out of the Nemesis just because he was a little late coming back. He couldn't do something like that to him, he was the Second in Command.

Megatron valued him, even if he was harsh. He had said those things to the Prime and his officers because he didn't want them to see just how much Megatron valued him. It was just as much an effort to protect him as it was Megatron's plea (in his own way) to come home. His spark swirled in its casing and he smiled to himself at this thought. The pain that was coursing through him was dimmed slightly, picturing the stern expression on his Lord's face. Surely now that Starscream had been captured, he would show a more conventional appreciation?  Not that he ever wanted Megatron to go soft, but a gentle touch like the one the Prime gave him--

His innermost energon felt like it was suddenly chilled and a shiver ran up his spinal struts at the traitorous thought. It was one thing to plot to take over the Decepticons. He would have still had room for Megatron then. But to entertain thoughts of the Prime sliding his fingers along the undersides of his wings, looking at him like he wanted to devour the Seeker at a slow and leisurely pace.  That was too much.  He didn't want to think about the deep rumble of the Prime's vocalizer. Or how large his frame was, easily able to cover him and yet hardly ever pressing into his personal space.  His quiet patience when he spoke, hardly raising his voice even though Starscream had started to bait him. Megatron wouldn't have needed even a fraction of a reason before he yelled at him, or struck him down, or humiliated him.

His wings were quivering and he swallowed back those thoughts. He could consider it later, after he was home, after he assured himself of his place at Megatron's side. He needed to make sure that Soundwave wasn't trying to take over his place as the second. He opened his comms again and sent a ping across to the various trines, wanting to alert them that he was coming home. Even if he had to deal with the Rainmakers, he wouldn't mind. He just needed better co-ordinates to get back to the Nemesis.  Still, it was quiet. It wasn't right. Even if they just wanted to respond so they could laugh at him, they should have been opening up their comms. Unless someone had scrambled all known codes.

But there was no reason for that. There were no traitors to the Decepticons that would warrant something that drastic across all frequencies.  His vents came a bit faster and the Seeker let himself drift to the ground, offlining his optics.  Megatron had no reason to have the frequencies all changed.  His servos were shaking and he curled his digits in against his palms, wishing he had something to lash out at.  He was nowhere near the waters and the sun was going down faster than he thought it would.

Trying to catch his vents, he reached for the trine bond desperately.  There was the faintest sensation of the other two who completed him, like trying to see through muddy waters.  But when he sent a thought along that connection, there was nothing. No acknowledgment that he was there, just apathetic sense of two others being there. Sending along the feeling of desperation got nothing in return, and a thread of needing help made it seem like they were pulling away further.  His optics onlined again and he looked up at the sky, taking a step back as the deep orange started to give way to darker hues.

If he couldn't go to the Nemesis, and wouldn't return to the Ark, where could he go?  His wings canted upwards and he vented deeply.  He needed to find cover before humans found him and called the Autobots.  He'd let auto repair take care of his transformation problem and scrounge for parts so he could make himself a small energon converter. One thing at a time, and he'd eventually see Megatron again. Prove to him that he should let him come back. He hadn't lost yet.


	6. Knight to Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me ages but I've finally got this chapter at least reasonably how I want it. Hopefully the next chapter isn't going to take as long. Thank you so much for sticking with me this far and I hope you all enjoy!

Optimus leaned against Teletran's console, his optics taking in the information that flickered across the screen. It had been a full day since Starscream had made a run for it and they had no sightings of him, so the Prime could only assume he had made it back to the Nemesis as he was ordered. Back to Megatron and fighting for the Decepticons. He should have tried harder, he shouldn't have allowed Starscream to stay within view of the screen. There were dozens of things he wish he had done differently and the topmost on that list was the unwanted touch he'd given the Seeker. He had no excuse for his desires, he should had averted his eyes from the shine on Starscream's plating. 

"Prime?" Jazz interrupted his thoughts, making him turn around. "You even been to recharge yet?"

"Give me a few more clicks." Optimus ran a servo across his faceplates. "You don't have to tell me, I know its foolish."

"Why's this bugging you so bad?" Jazz's tone wasn't its normal cheerfulness, he was asking as the head of Spec Ops. 

Optimus hesitated and looked down at the keyboard, his free servo clenching as he tried to find the words that would rationalization it. He couldn't think of anything that wouldn't sound utterly self serving. He had wanted Starscream to stay for more than just the possibility of peace. He had seen the beauty of the Seeker up close, without lazers firing around them and he wanted more. He'd seen the soft upturn of the sultry liplates when the Decepticon spoke to Skyfire and he wanted to be the reason behind it even though it was a ridiculous notion. 

"I had an... Indiscretion in my thoughts.  I suppose I've just been looking for justification." He finally replied, his tone low and laced with guilt. "I hoped to have some sight of him."

Jazz stood straighter, looking at the Prime curiously. He took a step forward, looking at the information that had been pulled up. Various nearby sources that could be raided for substances that could be used in lue of energon.  At least for a normal vehicle. Jazz reached out and flicked a few keys, expanding the area and taking other factors into account. 

"He probably would have headed to a military base first, if he was still out there. Jet fuel would be the first thing he'd look for, the regular stuff he'd only go for if he had no other choice available." Jazz spoke quietly and rested a servo on the Prime's shoulder. "But... Optimus, you know he probably reached the Nemesis, right?"

Venting quietly, Optimus felt his body weighing heavier. "I know that. I know I shouldn't be considering what I am either. It's not possible, is it?"

Jazz leaned a hip against Teletran, looking at Optimus as he considered his Prime. The Autobots would occasionally find comfort with one another but he couldn't remember a time when he'd seen Optimus slipping away with someone.

"I think its a very romantic notion, two bots from opposite sides coming together. It's not out of the question, but you gotta remember that this is Starscream. He's not a mech you should trust right away.  Just try to keep that in mind." Jazz patted Optimus' arm, looking at him pitiously. 

"Just give me a few more clicks." The larger bot turned his attention to the screen again, venting quietly.

"I'll be in the rec room if you need me."

Optimus nodded and flicked a section of the screen so it would bring up a focus of information there. His optics glowed brightly as he looked for anything that would suggest Starscream had been there. If the Seeker wasn't at the Nemesis then surely he needed oil or fuel or spare parts, anything that Optimus could use to track him. He vented heavily and rubbed his neck cables. He muttered a soft curse and started to reach for the cursor to bring up the next sector when he caught sight of something. 

Unusual sightings near a junk yard.  He called up a map of the area and he swore that his spark was going to flutter out of its casing. 

::Skyfire, I need you to do a recon for me.:: the Prime commed the large shuttle. ::I'm sending you a map of the area, I need you to check any places that Starscream might have holed up.  I think he might be there somewhere.::

::Should I bring anyone with me?::

::Negative.  We don't want him running again.::

::I'm on my way out.::

::Don't forget--::

::A repair kit, I know. Don't worry, I'll bring him home.::

::Keep in contact.::

Optimus let his optics offline and checked the next screen of suspect areas. If Skyfire didn't find his old friend there, he needed to have other options for him to look up. 

 

\--------------------

 

Skyfire took to the sky with just a hushed word to Bumblebee about where he was going. The little yellow scout looked worried, but any thoughts he kept to himself and he promised that he wouldn't say anything unless Skyfire came back with Starscream in tow.  The shuttle kept himself higher up as he flew to the area Optimus gave him directions to. Just from getting a cursory look, Skyfire knew that Starscream wouldn't have gone here if he had any choices left. But that was the key, wasn't it?

As horrible as it was, Skyfire hoped that his friend had been deposed from his former home. He wanted a chance to connect with his friend again, to hold onto him until the fury faded out of his garnet optics and peace finally settled in his Star once more. Even if Starscream hadn't always been the easiest to get along with, there was a time when peace was what they both wanted. Stability so they could nest beside each other and energon enough that any sparkling they kindled wouldn't have to worry about where the next meal would come from. And Skyfire knew that energon was rationed on both sides, but with all the raids the Decepticons did, it had to be harsher for them than the Autobots. 

Which led him to a dark thought. When was the last time that Star had a full tank? Was it when he had been sitting in the Autobot brig, waiting for their Prime to contact Megatron?  And how much did he have right now if he wasn't on the Nemesis?  Skyfire could feel his tanks pulling downward with worry even if he knew it was physically impossible. He had a bit of energon with him that he could spare until they got Star home again. He didn't know what their Prime would do with him once he was there, but regardless of where, Skyfire wanted to be at his side. If nothing else, Starscream deserved to know that someone would be there for him. He needed to know that the Nemesis wasn't his only option. 

Banking to the left, Skyfire scanned the area he was near, focusing on spots that would be large enough to hide the Seeker. There wasn't much in the way of hidey holes, but that didn't surprise Skyfire. This was a planet of much smaller beings so if Starfire was out there, he more than likely made himself some sort of shelter by digging or shifting around as much as he could with the materials on hand. The nearest military base was at least fifteen kliks away, and it was possible that Starscream took the chance and hid there to try to blend in. Letting out a vent, he repeated the scan, slowing down when he noted some debris on the ground. It looked like an old earth engine block, too large for a human to have simply forgotten about it, but small enough to a Cybertronian that if they had an armful, it could be dropped and missed. 

His spark felt like it was thrumming loud enough to be heard over his engine and he stopped himself when his scans finally pinged him back with something small. A bit of energon, barely noticeable, not big enough to be a cluster of crystals or cubes, but enough to note that someone Cybertronian was there. He followed the soft ping and transformed when it led him down to an area of dead trees. Blackened foliage made it inhospitable to earth animals, and there was no new trees being planted yet. Skyfire had to smile to himself when he saw that his weren't the only pedeprints in the area. 

His smile did fade a bit when he finally saw Starscream. The crimson Seeker was curled up with his back to the mountainside in order to preserve warmth and his plating looked scuffed. His servos were dirty from digging around in whatever he had to in order to salvage what he needed but otherwise he was still the pristine flier he always was. Kneeling down, Skyfire touched his arm and then neck cables worriedly, giving Star a small shake to bring him around. 

The response was surprisingly fast for someone that Skyfire thought was in full recharge. He lunged back when Star lashed out before his optics were even online, dentae bared and engine growling in what should have been a threateningly way. The shuttle caught Starscream's servos in his own, projecting calm with his EM field and waiting patiently for Star to stop struggling. 

“Not going back.” The Seeker rasped, his servos shaking as he pulled to try to get away. 

“Star, weren't you fully fueled when you left the brig?” Skyfire ignored the smaller fliers struggles, frowning down at him. 

The soft growling rolled to a stop and Starscream looked away with a frown. 

“Didn't you drink what they gave you?” Skyfire felt like there was a hole in his tanks and he pulled the mostly unresisting Seeker into his lap to hold him. 

“Not all…”

“Why?”

“Well how was I to know they wouldn't starve me!” Starscream pitched his voice, a faint trembling in his frame. “I had to put some aside in case they stopped feeding me.”

“Stubborn.” Skyfire murmured as he reached into his subspace, taking out a cube and pressing it into Starscream's servos. “Drink it. You're going to fall into stasis if you're not careful.”

“I was making a converter.” Starscream grumbled but took the cube, opening it up hastily and drinking it like he thought it would be taken away. 

“I saw the engine block about five kliks back.” Skyfire smirked and stroked his servos along Starscream's arms. 

“Slag it all, I knew I was missing parts.” 

The Seeker was relaxing by small degrees and Skyfire held onto him, anticipating a fight when he eventually told Starscream that he should come back with him. 

“Optimus thought you went back to the Nemesis.” Skyfire began cautiously.

Starscream tensed once more and his lip plates thinned as he pressed them together, obviously holding back a scathing comment. Skyfire dipped his helm and nuzzled the Seeker's temple, feeling the soft vents from his friend and having to bite back his worry. 

“I think the ship was moved.” He finally said. “They wouldn't answer any of my comms… and there was something wrong with my GPS. I failed to return on time.”

“They still won't answer your comms?” Skyfire tightened his hold on Starscream, expecting the worst.

The response that he got wasn't what he expected, but it was worse than he thought. Starscream didn't rage or scream. He didn't lash out and try to destroy anything within reach. He just went abysmally quiet and nodded, curling up against Skyfire's chassis like they were still young and the war hadn't happened. His vents came in long slow shudders, but he didn't cry, he still had enough pride that he wouldn't allow his old friend to see even that. 

“I'm not going with you. Prime has no reason to keep me alive. No reason not to torture me for what he wants. I'm staying here.” Starscream finally said, his vocals firm once he gathered himself enough to speak clearly. 

“He wouldn't torture you.” Skyfire murmured, a quiet horror in his voice. 

“Maybe not him. But can you say that your Spec Ops officer wouldn't tear what he wants out of my plating?  The Praxians, you think they’ll stand for my being on your Ark without some form of retribution?” Starscream frowned at him and reached up, squeezing Skyfire's shoulders. “I'm safer where I am right now than if I was on the Ark… or the Nemesis.”

“We can find a way to make compromises.  I don't want you out here alone.” 

Starscream bared his teeth in a parody of a smile and pulled himself closer in Skyfire's lap. “What sort of compromise do you want me to make?  Give up plans that will mean my trine being hurt?  Codes that are likely already all changed if the comms are anything to go by.  There's only one thing I could give the Prime that would interest him and I'm not interested in laying on my back for him.”

Skyfire bristled at his words, offended and disgusted at the idea that his leader would ask for something so debasing. He shook his head a little and frowned when he saw that Starscream’s garnet optics were dull, either from the lack of energon or because he was starting to give up all hope. 

“That's the way things are now.” Starscream shrugged a shoulder and put his helm down against Skyfire's chassis once more. “Believe what you want, but that's what will happen if you make me go back.”

“Optimus wouldn’t take advantage of you.  He sent me to find you because he’s worried.” Skyfire spoke softly, knowing that Starscream hated when he pleaded and trying his best to sound strong.

The shuttle could feel a twitching between his wings as he looked down at his old friend, feeling a chill run up his spinal struts at the blank expression on Starscream’s face.  He looked so bitter and Skyfire just couldn’t understand what in the war had jaded him so badly that they couldn’t trust one another in a situation like this.  They were on different sides, that was true, but Starscream had never doubted him before.

“You really believe that.” 

The dull tone should have warned him but Skyfire nodded all the same, wanting to impress on his friend that he would be safe.  If nothing else, they could trust one another.  He just needed to take it slowly and they could get Star back to the Ark. Back to safety and to a reliable (if slightly angry) medic.  Starscream had been unconscious for his previous time in the medbay, getting his wounds soldered and weapons offlined.  So maybe this time around he could see Ratchet and they could gain a grudging respect for one another.  Skyfire got the feeling that the two of them would round each other like cybercats with their plating fluffed but eventually he could see them getting along.

“You can’t see your Prime doing anything wrong.” Starscream tensed, clenching his servos as he started to pull away, putting his wings flat against the mountainside.

“I know that there are no good guys in a war.” Skyfire murmured, putting his head down so he could press a kiss to Starscream’s temple.  “But I know that he would never ask you to…. To do that.  There’s different kinds of evil and he’s just not capable of that.”

“He touched me.  In his room.” Starscream shook, pulling away from Skyfire’s warm embrace.

He didn’t want to believe it.  Every part of him wanted to deny the honesty and disgust that was rolling off of his friend in turns.  But so many orns apart and he could still see Starscream’s tells.  The little twitches and turns he made when he lied were silent.  The tension and openness of his wingspan told him just as much as Starscream’s words did.  

Starscream didn't expect the quick build of rage, but he reacted on instinct to the snarl, pushing himself backwards and blocking his helm with his arms. His wings pulled in close when he felt servos settle on his shoulders, pulling him in close. 

“He -wont- do it again. I’ll make sure of that.” Skyfire's voice was hot with anger, but his thick digits were gentle as ever as he stroked Starscream's wings and tried to help him calm down. 

“He’s your Prime.” Starscream gradually let his arms lower, his vocalizer tensing so the words barely got out.

“Our Prime.  But just because he’s our leader doesn’t mean that he gets to do whatever he wants.” Skyfire frowned and lightly ran his fingers along Starscream’s wings, knowing just where to touch to have him all but melting.

“I still don’t have my weapons, I can’t defend myself.”

“Yes you can.” There was a wry smile on the shuttle’s face and he squeezed Starscream’s shoulder. “I can’t promise you your weapons back, not at first.  But maybe with time we can all come to see one another in a peaceful way.”

Starscream had to choke back the laugh that wanted to work it’s way out of him and he looked away.  His friend was always the optimist, forever looking for a better way out of their dire situations.  Even in the middle of a war, with a bickering alien race trying to steal their technology, Skyfire stood with a smile on his face and hope in his spark.  The Seeker vented quietly and let his helm fall forward, resetting his optics as strong arms coiled around him.

“I’m not promising you anything.” Starscream said, taking care not to let too much scathing enter his tone.

“All I can ask is that you try to be peaceable.” Skyfire pleaded quietly.

“No active sabotage.  At least not from me.” 

“That’s… a start.” Skyfire admitted with a quiet laugh, pulling him in close and squeezing Starscream affectionately.

“Any chance there’s another cube of energon…?” 

“There is back at the Ark.” Skyfire smiled.  “If you want to load the generator you’ve been building into me, we can fly back and you can have some after we talk to Optimus together.”

Starscream huffed and let his digits dig in against Skyfire’s harder armor, a scowl coming to his full lips.  Part of him wanted to keep running, but he had a healthy desire to see himself continuing to function.  And a tiny part of him was called back by the conversation that he’d had with the Prime.  The bright blue optics that watched him carefully and gentle servos that stroked under his wings in a slow sensual caress.  He hated the touch as much as he wanted to know more about it.  He wanted to pick the Prime apart and see the differences between him and Megatron.  But only to satisfy his scientific curiosity.  It was a matter of social construct differences that he had to understand.

“Well, transform then.  And lets pick up that last piece that you passed earlier while we’re at it.  I doubt that your Prime is going to let me work on anything, but if he does then I want this finished.  I don’t like leaving things half done.” Starscream pushed up from his spot and started to gather together the bits that he had been working on.


	7. Pawn shifts forward

Since Starscream was injured, Skyfire flew just underneath him just in case something happened and he started to drop out of the sky.  He noted with worry that his friend was staying in root mode despite the fact that his alt would make the flights easier.  Skyfire stayed in root mode as well, if only so Starscream wouldn’t feel embarrassed by the fact he couldn’t transform at the moment.  He commed ahead to Ratchet to let him know everything that was visible about the damage as well as Star’s comments about how he had not drank all of the energon he’d been given when he was back in the cell.  Although the comms were dimming the medic’s vocalizer tone, he could tell that Ratchet was upset.  Not angry, but upset, which told Skyfire a lot more about Starscream’s current state than just looking at him would unearth.

The closer they got to the ark, the more nervous Starscream got and Skyfire remained patient with him, telling the Aerialbots to stay away and let him deal with the skittish Seeker.  They took breaks a few times, finally landing so they could actually walk the distance towards Autobot Headquarters.  Oddly enough, once they touched down, Starscream seemed less anxious than before and Skyfire wondered if that was because it would be less obvious to everyone that he couldn’t transform at the moment.

“I’m going to take you down to medical first.” Skyfire spoke softly, one hand resting on Starscream’s back. 

“Alright… my thrusters are killing me.” Starscream scowled at the ground, his body slowly leaning against his friends as they walked.

“They may still want you to stay in the brig, but I’ll do what I can to make sure you get some thermal tarps and other things so you’ll be comfortable.”

Starscream looked up at him, his spark clenching at the tender words.  Skyfire was the only mech that he could ever depend on.  When he first formed his trine, he had thought he could rely on them too, but as the war crept closer, it strained their bond and they started snapping at one another.  To the point that Thundercracker and Skywarp would answer to Megatron before responding to their trine leader.  That was why there was no response now, wasn’t it?  Megatron was ordering them into silence.  Taking a vent, the Seeker looked up to the skies and traced the patterns of the constellations as he gathered himself.

“If your Prime can’t use me as a bargaining chip, what use does he have for me?” Starscream shivered, shifting his plating a bit to keep his heat in better.

“You’re not just a pretty face, Star.  Our Prime can ask you to work in the science labs.” Skyfire answered gently, the chill not bothering him since he was used to venturing into deep space for extended periods.

Starscream tipped his helm up to look at his friend, a smile gracing his face finally.  Worry was still working it’s way through his spark, making him paranoid about what would happen once he was in the Ark itself, but as long as Skyfire could stay with him then he had some confidence that things would turn out alright.

“Just don’t leave me again.” Starscream uttered the words so softly that they were nearly lost to the wind.

The strong arm around his waist tightened and he turned his head so he could press his helm against Skyfire’s side. They walked in silence back to the Ark, just the sound of the wind stirring up the dirt making any mark on the nights quiet. Skyfire kept an easy hand on Starscream's waist, slowing when his friend did to make sure they weren't going too fast. 

The big shuttle had already commed Optimus to let him know that they were coming in and he didn't enjoy the idea that he might have an argument with his leader about how Starscream would be treated. It never occurred to him that his Prime would be interested in anyone, much less try to touch someone. It made his energon boil to think of and he hugged Starscream a bit closer, wishing that he could just take him back to a high built home that Grounders could never reach and protect him. 

“You're thinking too much. Your wings are getting tense.” Starscream spoke up with a little smile. 

“You can still read me so easy. I could never keep anything from you if you didn't want to find out what was going on.”

“To be fair, you could never keep anything from me.” Starscream looked at him, a fondness in his garnet optics. “You always get excited about your projects, even when it's as simple as setting up a date with some cute mech.” He paused then and his smile grew wider, spotting something in Skyfire's stance. “You still have a thing for Grounders don't you?”

“I like how strong they are, even if they are smaller than me.”

Starscream rubbed along Skyfire’s wings and looked up at the stars again. Unless he was very lucky, this might be the last night in a long while that he would get to spend outside with his old friend. It wasn't like he could slow them down any further without pulling them to a stop yet again so Starscream kept going, his smile fading the closer they got to the Ark. 

“I hate this.  I shouldn't be here.” Starscream tensed, hate spitting from his vocalizer. “I don't belong with Autobots.”

“But you belong with me.” Skyfire spoke softly still, “I know this is hurting you right now but you’ll see, things will get better.”

They could see the Ark ahead and Skyfire stroked Starscream's side and hip absently, wanting to will away any of the tension that might start building. The smaller flier stumbled a couple of steps forward and gripped Skyfire's arm when he caught hold of him before he could fall down. His optics cycled a few times in quick succession and his lip plates pulled in a frown when he felt an unfamiliar pulse of pain in his chassis. 

“Star?  Do you need me to carry you?” 

“I'm fine. My pain receptors must be misfiring or something.” The red Seeker shook his helm and straightened up. 

Skyfire didn't look convinced and Starscream reached out to swat away the shuttles servos when he made to scoop him up. He didn't even have to look at his friend, there were pitiful pulses coming off Skyfire's EM field that screamed how protective he felt over Starscream. It might have even been flattering if he wasn't such a pacifist. He knew that the worry wouldn't stop, so he vented quietly and put Skyfire's arm around his waist, patting his servo absently. 

“I'm not a sparkling. And honestly, I've seen more fighting that you could even dream of at this point, you don't need to be a white knight.”

“Parts of my armor is red.”

“You are such a dork, no wonder you chose the Autobots.” Starscream snorted, though there was no sharpness to his usual haughty tones. 

“I would never have truly fit with the Decepticons.” Skyfire spoke hesitantly, like he was afraid of tripping over a verbal landmine. 

“You never would have been happy.  Megatron would always have been yelling at you to open fire.  He's hard like that.” 

“I just don't understand why you followed him.” Skyfire let a frown marr his handsome faceplates. 

“Because I love him.” 

The shuttle nearly stumbled but kept his vocalizer off, not knowing anything he could say that would actually help matters. He glanced down at Starscream and saw that there was a coolant buildup along his collar fairing, dripping down to his cockpit.  Putting it off as something about the change in weather getting colder, he shook his helm to put it away from his mind. 

Inside the Ark, Optimus was pacing near the doors, eager to be the first to meet Starscream, wanting to set right what he'd done wrong and try to put things on the right path. Even if Starscream didn't forgive him, even if the Seeker never wanted to persue anything with him, as the Prime, he had an obligation to his people to stop this war. And with Starscream coming back to the Ark, that might still be possible. 

He just needed to remind himself not to get too eager about the fact that Starscream was being brought back with Skyfire.  The Seeker didn’t appear to have any interest in him, and it wouldn’t be right to try to court him as he was trying to get him to turn over to their side, right?  The Prime ran a servo across his face and leaned back against the wall, doing a mental tally of where everyone was at the moment.  Jazz had taken his unofficial role as moral officer to spark and had gathered up a number of bots in the common area, setting up a As The Kitchen Sinks marathon.  Optimus almost wished that he was there to watch along with them.  The human melodrama was fascinating.  Ratchet, of course, was waiting for Starscream in medical along with Wheeljack.  The enthusiastic inventory was working on a chemical compound to be added to energon that could work as a mild sedative.  Prowl was working with Red Alert in the control room, going over information coming in from human satellites about an upcoming cosmic storm that would be within sight of the Earth.  As long as there weren’t too many meteors that were supposed to touch down on the planet, it would be fun to watch.

As far as anyone knew, the Seeker wasn’t coming in tonight, that was a secret held between Skyfire, Optimus, Jazz and Ratchet.  And unknowing to the Prime, Bumblebee also had a hint that it was going to happen.  Fortunately for him, the little yellow bug was keeping his vocalizer zipped about this until he got to see more of the situation and could assess it properly.  The scout was taking serious note of the things that Jazz was teaching him about the subtleties of spec ops.

Bumblebee sat near the door as the human drama unfolded on screen, doing his best not to become too immersed in the story line that he would miss an incoming comm from Skyfire.  He knew that the big shuttle had a soft spark where Starscream was concerned and he didn’t want the Decepticon to take advantage of him.  For all he knew, Skyfire had gone out there and he was going to get ambushed to a bunch of Seekers.  He scowled as he crossed his arms over his chassis, glancing up when Jazz came and perched on the edge of the couch he was on.

_ ::You okay little buddy?:: _

_ ::Yeah.  Just worried is all.:: _

_ ::What about?:: _

Bumblebee flicked his optics up to Jazz and let a little smile cross his features.  Jazz knew everything that happened in the Ark, so the scout had no doubt that he knew that Skyfire had gone out to try to find Starscream.  To his credit, Jazz just shrugged a little, looking a touch sheepish as he made himself comfortable, sliding down beside Bumblebee.  The older mechs’ EM field unraveled against his own, washing over him with feelings of confidence.  Even if Jazz couldn’t say anything aloud or over comms what the situation was concerning Starscream, he could at least help Bumblebee keep calm about his friend.

_ ::Bumblebee, could you meet me by the front entrance?:: _

Bumblebee looked up, relief flaring outwards from him when he heard the strong tenor of Skyfire’s comms coming to him.  He forced himself to relax and stretched his arms up, nodding to Jazz as he moved out of the common area.  Everyone was so wrapped up in the soap opera that they didn’t pay him any attention, the unraveling story drawing everyone in with the fact that someone was pregnant with their ex lovers twin brother’s child that they had been impregnated with in vitro while they were in a coma.  He was definitely going to have to ask how that one turned out.

The yellow scout half jogged towards the entrance area, his spark lifted at the knowledge that Skyfire would be there waiting and that he at least -sounded- like he was safe.  There were no alarms blaring so that means that he wasn’t in hot pursuit by a bunch of cons either, so his worries had been unjustified.  He could hear the soft lull of voices ahead and turned the corner to see that Starscream was leaning against Skyfire, Optimus standing near them talking quietly to the two fliers.  Normally Bumblebee would have hated to see Starscream in their base without some sort of stasis cuffs on him to debilitate him, but there was something about the way that the normally proud Seeker was leaning on Skyfire that gave him pause.

Starscream was only taking shallow vents and his plating was covered in a thin sheen of coolant, his optics dim and narrowed as he stared at Optimus.

“I can help get him to the medbay.” The Prime offered as he stepped forward.

“I already commed for assistance.” The shuttle’s tone was polite but there was a hardness in his features that drove Optimus back a step.

Bumblebee moved up then, coming on the other side of Starscream and hooking the Seeker’s arm around his shoulders so he could help. “Mech, you look like the Pit…”

“Funny, and here I thought I was feeling fine enough to do some barrel rolls.” Starscream’s voice was quiet and unfamiliar, making Bumblebee startle slightly.

Optimus looked guilty and Bumblebee just shrugged a shoulder to him as they continued to make their way towards the medical bay with the Prime following after them like a worried carrier.  Whatever had happened out there, Bumblebee wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.  He glanced up at Starscream as they walked, making sure that the flier wasn’t about to collapse on him as they went.

“Is this some sort of rust infection?  He was just with us a day ago, nothing should be hurting him so fast, right?” The yellow scout looked up past Starscream to Skyfire’s serious features.

“Can’t be infected.  I’m always in perfect health.” Starscream muttered, his stabilizers weakening under him so the mecha to either side of him had to carry him 

“Well you’re not exactly perfect right now.” Bumblebee shifted his grip and nodded to Skyfire who took the Seeker from him completely.

Moving ahead, he opened up the doors to the med bay and waved to Ratchet who was striding over to them.  When Bumblebee looked back to Skyfire, he saw that the Seeker in his arms was groaning softly, his garnet optics sparking and the light fading.  There was a light trembling in Starscream’s servo and he raised it up to his chassis, whining as he clutched his cockpit.

“Get him on the gurney.” Ratchet ordered, his medical cables unwinding smoothly and plugging into Starscream’s wrist port before he was even set down.

“He was fine a cycle ago when we were walking back.” Skyfire explained hastily. “He couldn’t transform without pain, and his thrusters were hurting him, but he was okay.”

“Wheeljack, get your welder and start on his thrusters.  Skyfire, I need you to keep his helm still in case he starts moving.  Starscream, can you still respond?”

“Your voice is fuzzy.” The Seeker’s vocalizer slurred, his optics not yet flickering back on. 

Bumblebee watched as the medic quickly worked the Seeker’s transformation seams open, his chassis folding outwards until a pale green spark was exposed.  The scout felt a flush coming to his faceplates, knowing that he should turn his face away but unable to pull away from the sight.  How could Ratchet stand to look at that and not be embarrassed or awed or aroused?  Even Skyfire’s optics were drawn to it, his wings hiked up like he was acting as a shield for the slowly pulsing spark.

A little too slowly pulsing.  Bumblebee took a half step forward, looking at the static charge that was flickering around the Seeker’s spark casing.  He wasn’t a medic but it didn’t seem right.

“Ratchet, do I need to get a battery…?” Bumblebee offered softly, his vocalizer shuddering.

“No, I need you to get me the insolation gel from the cupboard and a cube of medgrade energon.” Ratchet frowned, his hands shifting along the spark casing quickly, his own systems delving into Starscreams to help barricade his firewalls.

“Insolation--?” Bumblebee muttered even as he went for the gel, hardly able to take his optics off the work that Ratchet was doing.

“I can’t hear--” Starscream’s vocalizer was weak and confused.

“Bumblebee, now!” Ratchet snapped, wincing as small bursts of electricity started to crackle off the Seeker and pop along both of their bodies.

When Bumblebee grabbed the gel and brought it back over to the table, the spark looked brighter and the scouted smiled, looking up to Ratchet.  The medic, however, looked grimly at the Seeker.  He grabbed the gel without a word and started to liberally coat the inside of the spark casing.  Skyfire looked horrified as he watched and Bumblebee looked up to the shuttle, hoping that he could get an explanation from him since the medic was too busy with Starscream.

“His trine is breaking apart.”


	8. Where is the Knight when you need him?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small interlude with Ratchet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Star is still out of it, but at least I'm updating again! The next chapter I promise will bring some answers and I'm going to keep working on it while I'm on a roll with writing.

Bumblebee sat in the med bay to watch over Starscream. Even though the Seeker was in stasis, Prowl still thought there should be at least one mech to watch him.  And since Ratchet needed to focus on work in the med bay, Bumblebee got guard duty. Not a bad job, but it was fairly boring to deal with if he was being honest. Skyfire was in the 'roost’ with the aerial bots, taking comfort from them while they waited to see if Starscream would wake up. Ratchet had stabilized his spark and kept it from guttering, but the breaking of a bond was no small thing. A trine was supposed to be on the same level as a spark bond, and yet from what Bumblebee observed, Starscream’s trine wasn't a happy relationship. The instances when he'd seen Starscream interact with his trine, he had seen hardship on all sides. It wasn't as though Bumblebee could point a digit and say who was at fault either. Thundercracker didn't seem to respect Starscream, but perhaps that was because of the amount of times the trine leader had tried to usurp Megatron and failed. Skywarp had a tendency to simply follow orders of whoever was in a position higher than him. 

Resting his elbows on the table in front of him, Bumblebee watched Starscream for any signs that he might be rousing. He blinked when he saw that Ratchet was turning one of the monitors on to watch human television and was pointing it towards the prone Seeker. 

“Ratchet?  What are you doing?” The scout asked as the CMO adjusted the volume. 

“Well… Skyfire told me that Starscream enjoys terrible romance novels. So I figure this can't hurt. He might hear the plot going on and start to wake up a little.” Ratchet spoke softly, showing a gentler side of himself that only a handful of bots were privileged to see. 

Bumblebee looked curious and got up, taking a polishing rag from the medic when he appeared to be cleaning his hands. Taking the polishing rag, he caught Ratchet’s wrist and started to clean his digits off for him. The CMO looked at him fondly and let the scout take care of him, his EM field slowly loosening from its tense hold around his frame. 

“If Starscream doesn't pull out of this.. I don't know what to tell Skyfire.”

“Don't think about it. No negative thoughts in the med ward.” Bumblebee pressed his digits against Ratchet's palm. 

“You sound like that Wrecker…” Ratchet snorted but didn't pull away. 

Bumblebee focused on Ratchets hands and smiled softly, his EM field a steady warmth pressing against Ratchet's own, offering support and encouraging him to stay close if he needed to. Ratchet vented quietly and looked over at Starscream’s prone form. He was the chief medical officer, he had extensive knowledge about spark repair and how to fix frames. He'd studied for ages to become the best he could, and yet he felt so helpless standing here next to Starscream, unable to pull him out of stasis. 

“There has to be something more I can do.” He said hoarsely, offlining his optics as he rested his helm on Bumblebee's shoulder. 

“Well, we don't have trine's here, but is there anything similar you could study to give you ideas?” Bumblebee spoke softly, rubbing the cloth over Ratchet's fingers, carefully cleaning the joints. 

“The only ones remotely close would be the twins and I can't see them being enthusiastic about helping a con.”

“You could get Prime to ask them for you?  Or I could. Starscream isn't my favorite bot, but I don't wanna see him fade away if there's something we can do to help.” Bumblebee spoke quietly as he rubbed circles along Ratchet's wrist. 

“I can talk to them just fine. Just gotta work up some nerve.” 

“The infamous Hatchet needs to steel his nerves?” Bumblebee grinned up at him. 

The medic frowned and wiggled his servo out of the scouts grasp so he could wag a finger at him. “Now you listen here!  Jazz might let you get away with that sass but I won't. I don't like that name!”

“You should hold onto that attitude when you go to talk to the twins.”

“Not gonna work.” Ratchet poked Bumblebee's nasal ridge. “Sides might act a little obedient but his brother would rile him up in a nanoklik.”

“Then you know who you should focus on!” Bumblebee said encouragingly. 

Ratchet continued to scowl at him and slowly Bumblebee's shoulders hunched in a bit as his optics brightened with 'innocence’. He had only meant to work the medic up a bit and make him feel like he could go talk to the twins with confidence, but he wasn't as good at that as Jazz was. 

“Sorry Ratchet, I just think that Sunny’s really no match for you. You've always been really strong. You can even convince Prowl that he needs to take breaks and that's pretty much impossible. So whatever it is you do to get us to do what you want.. you just gotta apply that to them.” Bumblebee shrugged a little and started to hand back the polishing cloth.

For a moment, Ratchet stared at the cloth, his optics thinning to a line as he took it from Bumblebee. A slow smile creeped over his faceplates and he twirled the cloth between his fingers before putting it in his subspace. 

“Good idea… now can I pull this off within a few days…”

“Pull… what off?”

“Never you mind.” Ratchet grinned and pat him between the horns, going back to his files that he had begun to compile on Starscream. 

Bumblebee watched the complicated medic as he went back to work. The soap opera played in the background and Bumblebee looked up at the vid screen, a little amused that it was set in a hospital. He knew that this was one of Ratchet’s favorites because he had come in on the medic’s downtime to see him relaxing with some hot oil as the episodes played.  Somehow he got the feeling that even if he knew more about human anatomy and their various diseases, he still wouldn’t understand 90% of the diagnosis that were given on this show.

Ratchet got up from his seat and lightly pat Bumblebee on his way out the door.  The medic still had his attention focused on a datapad, but he muttered something about refueling.  Bumblebee glanced over at Ratchet as he slipped out the door and then over at the small energon dispenser that was in the corner.  Maybe it just wasn’t working that well?  He’d have to get Wheeljack to fix that later, he knew that Ratchet didn’t like leaving his office while he was in the middle of his paperwork.

Ratchet steered himself down the halls on autopilot, his EM field telling him when he was too close to another bot and he had to move over slightly.  It wasn’t an uncommon tactic and he was fairly certain that he had seen Optimus doing it as he read some of the new human adventure novels that he downloaded.  The medic schooled his expression into something more stern and paused in front of the door to the common room, nodding to Ironhide as the brash mech made his way out.  There wasn’t much happening in the common room, but as Ratchet passed by one of the tables he could hear Cliffjumper grumbling about how he thought that Their Prime had a wire crossed for allowing Starscream back into the base.  Mirage was doing his best to be the voice of reason, but even Ratchet could hear the skepticism in his words.

Undoubtedly, this was another reason why Prowl had assigned for someone to be watching over Starscream at all times.  Letting out a slow vent, Ratchet flicked a finger against his datapad to let it skim over to the next page before blindly reaching for a cube beside the dispenser.  He could feel how high it was filling by the warmth against his palm and cut it off just before it hit the top, turning to go over to a free chair without seeming to look at who was there.

“Good afternoon Ratchet.” Sunstreaker’s voice came from his left.

The medic returned the greeting in soft tones, his attention still focused on his datapad, which made the frontliner chuckle quietly.  He let the conversation flow around him, barely paying attention to the words that were passing by him.  

Sunstreaker smirked as his brother quietly told him about a new street race location that he’d found, letting his brother get excited about it without promising that he would join him.  He wasn’t a huge fan of the human crowds, preferring to keep their dirty hands off of his gleaming finish.  But if Sideswipe wanted to get all energetic about the possibility or going out and showing off how fast he was, Sunstreaker didn’t have the spark to deny him that.  He might even help distract Prowl so his twin could go.  In his peripheral vision, he could see that Ratchet was absently stroking a finger along the edge of his cube, lifting it up a bit and then setting it back down so he could turn to another section of whatever was on his datapad.  At first, Sunstreaker just continued to talk to his twin, but his attention to detail was dragged back to the medic’s hand.   More specifically to a scuff mark in his paint near his knuckles.  Sunstreaker had heard Wheeljack teasing the medic before about how sensitive his hands could be, so he was a little surprised to see that he would allow them to be scuffed at all.

Pulling his attention away, he laughed at his brother when Sideswipe started going on about how he was going to put some gaudy dice hanging from his rearview mirror since he could still see perfectly fine no matter how big and shiny they were.  

“Go ahead and get a set of ugly fuzzy dice, just don’t expect me to help you pick it out of your transformation seams when it gets stuck, right Ratchet?” Sunstreaker glanced at the medic, his smile faltering when he saw that Ratchet was still staring at his datapad with a perplexed expression.

“Huh…?” Ratchet looked up from his work, cycling his optics a few times like he was pulling himself from a daze.  His lip plates twitched like he was trying to smile and he nodded briefly.  “Sure, fuzzy dice sounds nice.”

“Well that sounds like approval to me!” Sideswipe grinned and gave his brother’s shoulder a small shove.

From his position beside their CMO, Sunstreaker could see that the datapad was loaded up with pictures of a spark that had been broken into 3D segments and could be rotated as Ratchet liked with a simple flick of a finger.  He had only ever taken in information about basic repair so this was far beyond him, but it looked fascinating and the color of the corona even shifted a bit from picture to picture, almost like there was more than one involved.  Ratchet lifted his cube up again and then frowned as he set it down, resealing the top of it with a quiet vent.

“You want it?  I’m not so hungry.” The medic offered it over to the two.

“I could use some extra.” Sideswipe shrugged and pulled the cube over to himself, tucking it into his subspace for later.

“Thanks.  Don’t want it to go to waste.” Ratchet’s vocals were soft and he got up, absently patting Sides on the shoulder as he passed by, apparently leaving once more.

Sunstreaker frowned as he watched the medic go and thumped his brother’s shoulder before going after the CMO, sending a comm to his brother to get Smokescreen to help him if he wanted to head out and do some driving that night.  He knew that the Praxian would love to help out, he could earn some money setting bets if they went together.

Following Ratchet down the hallway, he rest a hand on the other’s shoulder, gaining a quick ‘whoop’ from the medic’s sirens’ when he was startled.  Ratchet let out a huff of a laugh, turning his attention ahead of him again.

“Do you mind some company?” 

“I’m not going to be great company, Sunstreaker, I’m in the middle of a problem.” Ratchet replied quietly.

“Is this about that Seeker?”

The datapad Ratchet was holding was put away into his subspace and the medic turned to him, lightly tapping a finger to Sunstreaker’s chest.  Not something many would do for fear that their hands would get fed to them.

“Yes, this is about him.  You don’t have to tell me you don’t like it, I’ve already gone over this with Prowl.  He needs help and I’m gonna figure out how to wake him up… eventually.” Ratchet’s expression was a little bitter and he turned away, still headed for the medbay.

Sunstreaker wanted to argue with him, it was on the tip of his glossa to snarl that Starscream was just a dirty con who didn’t deserve to have Ratchet’s attention or compassion.  Unfortunately they were both cut off by Teletraan sending out an alert that had them both lifting a hand to their helms as Prowl sent reminder pings of who was on standby duty.

“I have to go.” Sunstreaker growled, pulling back.

“First Aid will watch out for you.  My shift is here at the Ark.” Ratchet nodded, taking a step back. “And be careful!  You’re still favoring your right leg.”

The frontliner was surprised that Ratchet even noticed that and he smiled as he turned and darted down the hallway, ready to roll out with the rest of his group.  He never knew what to make of it when Ratchet paid such close attention to him and his brother, but his twin assured him that it was just a medic’s optics that saw those little dings and twists in their frame.  But if that was the case, shouldn’t Ratchet see his own small scuffs as well?  

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ratchet sat beside Starscream, opposite Bumblebee, a thin cord connecting them as he poured over the Seeker’s coding to try to make sense of the twists and turns and what seemed to be a surplus of firewalls even for a Second in Command.  He had a small sample on his files of what Starscream’s coding was like and he had used it to tinker around and see what knots he could undo in order to understand the Seeker’s condition better, but there were still layers that he was under.  And for the life of him, Ratchet couldn’t figure out if the condition that Starscream was in was due to the stress of the bond breaking or if he was actually hiding under it all and trying to process this by himself.

There were some lines of code that had him pulling back and tracking to a different section, determined not to touch them or even glance at them again if he could help it.  It looked like some of what he originally was had been twisted.  Changes in a Cybertronian’s make up was normal considering how long lived they were, but sections of what he saw was like peering down at a poor tortured creature.  The alterations were either forced by someone else who could fuck around with coding, or Starscream had made himself change without being truly ready for it.  The medic vented and gently pulled back from the Seeker, unplugging from him and glancing at the screen that was playing above them.

“I wanted it to be yours.” The actress took in a shaky breath. “If I had to have a baby, I just wanted it to be yours, Doctor!”

“Wow…” Bumblebee stared up at the drama, his optics going wide. “I’m… not sure what to make of that…”

Ratchet let his gaze shift from the show to Starscream, noticing a small twitch in the Seeker’s frame.  “Well that woman is from an old family that passes down everything along the male line.  Her older brother is missing and presumed dead and her father promised her that she would never get anything unless she had a son.  She never wanted a child to begin with and her brother had always promised to take care of her and protect her from their father but now she feels like she doesn’t have any choice but to carry a youngling.”

“You don’t watch this show a lot.” Bumblebee grinned, leaning on the med berth a little bit.

“Demons of the universal heart is arguably better than As the Kitchen Sinks.” Ratchet leveled a cool gaze at Bumblebee, amused when the scout nearly backfired his vents in surprise.

“How can you even say that?”

“Very easily, the characters are convoluted, but you’ll never find them doing something because ‘Oh I got hypnotized and forgot to be a good person’.” Ratchet snorted softly.  “And don’t even get me started on the confusing mix up with twins that Kitchen Sink is always using.  You would never see that kind of slag with Sunny and Sides.  ..plus, I sort of like the focus on the next generation that this show has.  And some of the show revolves around the youngling ward.  I miss younglings…”

Bumblebee looked at Ratchet in surprise, stunned into silence when he saw that Ratchet was lightly rubbing his chevron and across helm absently.  “Ratchet?  Did you ever have…?”

Ratchet swallowed when he noticed that small twitch in Starscream’s fingers and he let his vocals slip lower, staring up at the screen.  “No.  I hadn’t started to think about sparklings when the war started, and I couldn’t make myself consider it as long as all of this is going on.  I want them eventually, but I need to have a peaceful home and a good partner.”

“What about Wheeljack?” 

“Jackie?” Ratchet smiled and shook his helm a little. “We’re really good friends.  I think we might become Amica, but if we tried to be Conjux we would drive one another crazy.”   
“Is there someone else you’re thinking about?” Bumblebee asked quietly.

“I’m not sure… someone who would be a good Sire.  Someone who can be protective without being overbearing and knows that I need my own space.  Someone who can put up with me when I’m being cranky and point out that I need to take care of myself without driving me crazy.”

The medic wasn’t naming names, but Bumblebee was already trying to think of someone in the Ark who could be all of that for Ratchet.  The CMO deserved to have someone.

“You’ll find someone.”

“Someday.  Right now, I’ve got a little more to be concerned about.  Heck, with this crew it’s almost like I’m looking after sparklings anyways.  You’ve seen me chase down Optimus to drag him into the washracks.” 

Bumblebee snorted and turned his face away, doing his best not to laugh even as he saw how much Ratchet was smiling at that particular memory.  Ratchet was looking down at Starscream intently and Bumblebee could practically feel a tingle in his horns when he felt the brief flicker in the sleeping Seeker’s EM field.  He got up when Ratchet told him to pull the tarp up around the Seeker and helped to tuck it tighter around him so he could keep warm.  The medic leaned in to Starscream’s audial and started to speak in a low tone, making shivers run across Bumblebee’s plating, his spark jumping when he saw Ratchet’s lips move but his voice barely registered.

“You’re safe here.  Skyfire will be home soon.  No one will come through the door that I don’t allow.”

“I hope Jazz comes home soon.” Bumblebee murmured.

“You and me both.  We could use some more answers…”


	9. New pieces in play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long but here's another chapter, helping to explain a little bit. Not gonna lie, this was hard for me to write for a few reasons, I hate making my favs hurt and act the bad guy. Even if they -are- the bad guys.... But hey, bonus, there's gonna be some more action soon enough..

Getting into the Nemesis was easy as it normally was. Finding it once it moved from where Jazz was used to it sitting?  Not so much. The saboteur moved silently through the ventilation shaft, his biolights shut off and visor dimmed to a different setting so he would be able to creep around undetected. His small frame paused near the Decepticon rec room and he put a hand to the wall, using reverberations from the loud voices to help him pin point where they were in the room in case he was found and needed to fight his way out. 

The day that Starscream had come in with Skyfire and promptly passed out, Jazz had taken it upon himself to check things out, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before his Prime asked him. He had spoken to Prowl just before leaving, the two quietly agreeing that there was more than just defection at work here. 

“Didn't think Lord Megatron would actually force Starscream out into the cold.” One voice could be heard rumbling. 

“Can you blame him, after everything Megatron has had to put up with? A mech can only take so much disobedience. Starscream was his Second, he never should have pushed that far.”

The first voice grumbled something that didn't come through properly and Jazz started to creep past the rec room, following the route that he knew would take him to where the Seekers roosted. Infrared vision told him there were no other heat signatures nearby in the vent shafts, and no lingering traces which meant no one patrolled there recently. Letting himself creep along, he smirked when he saw a sensor to his left and resisted the urge to snort. Of course seeing that just put him on higher alert for trip wires or cameras, so while he was dismantling that, he did a quick sweep to make sure nothing was going to stop him. 

Once that was out of the way, he crawled his way to the next junction and unscrewed the hatch so he could slip out. Dusting himself off, he moved casually, activating his secondary color set with a slight grimace. 

The secondary set was something he'd gotten Perceptor to craft, a temporary color shift in his paint nanites so he would look like one of the drones on the Nemesis at first glance. While Jazz didn't think he would get caught at any point, Perceptor had been delighted to come up with the clever camouflage. The look on the scientists face when Jazz proposed it originally was nothing short of blinding happiness and Jazz had quickly been confused by a barrage of equations and suppositions that Perceptor had rattled off all while dragging him into the lab. And if that's what it took to make Perceptor happy, as the unofficial moral officer, Jazz would do his best to come up with more odd ideas for him to try out. 

Idly, Jazz counted the doors on his way down the hallway, pausing when he found what he needed without his internal map. Behind the door that he knew was Skywarp’s hab suite came two arguing voices. The saboteur put a hand to the door and leaned in to listen, visor bright as he watched around him for anyone that might be coming down the hallway. 

“--Didn't think you were talking about that.” Came an angry but tired Skywarp. 

“Stop your whining, your just as happy to be rid of him as I am.” Thundercracker's deep vocalizer made the walls shake as he raised his voice. 

“Talking about it and doing it are two different things!  You know I didn't want this! You know it!” Skywarp's voice cracked and then broke into static as his vents sputtered. “He could be dead and you don't even care.”

“He was nothing but a disappointment, don't pretend you're not happy.”

“I'm not!” Skywarp wailed. There was a thump and shuffle and Jazz grit his dentae as he had to quickly scale the wall to the vent again and climb inside. “If you think I didn't want him around… you don't know me.”

“Warp… it’ll feel better once we trine with someone else. Megatron--”

There was a heavy crash and the sickly sound of the vents heaving again. Jazz quickly moved to the ducts close to the room and saw a computer crashed on the floor at Thundercracker's pedes. Skywarp's knees were wobbling as he forced himself to stay upright. His optics, however, were clear as ever and blazing with fury. 

“Don't you fucking say his name near me.  Get out!”

Thundercracker was shocked by the violence as much as Skywarp's use of the human curse and he took a small step towards the dark Seeker, only freezing when Warp started to hiss at him. Jazz watched from the ducts, studying Skywarp's shaking frame and Thundercracker's much more steady one. Behind his visor, his optics narrowed and he took captures of the two so he could show Ratchet later. Perhaps Thundercracker was naturally the healthiest of the trine and that's why he looked fine?

The door closed behind Thundercracker as he left and Skywarp stumbled back a step, collapsing on his berth with a harsh inhale. His hands were still shaking and even from up in the vents, Jazz could see that Skywarp looked horribly pained. Skywarp put a hand to his chassis and Jazz leaned forward as the Seeker rubbed his chassis with a soft whimper. The saboteur turned to try to check where Thundercracker's heat signature was and deactivated his camouflage. 

It was a hasty idea, crazy to boot, but Jazz was always a mech who followed his gut. Carefully, he picked the vent cover away from the entrance and pulled it away. He frowned when Skywarp didn't so much as look up at him and he swung his legs out, hopping down. Staring at the Seeker, he rested a hand on his hip, ready to grab his gun in case the bigger mech didn't feel like talking. He moved closer to the berth and frowned at the sight of the Seeker. His plating was pale but there was a thin sheen of condensation across his chassis. Jazz thought that surely Skywarp had to be aware that he was in the room, but when he stepped fully into the fliers field of vision, he flinched like the saboteur had jumped out of nowhere. The bright red optics that had been blazing just a minute before were dull and dark like he was about to slip into recharge. 

“You look like shit.” Jazz muttered honestly. 

“You're a paragon of sweetness.” Skywarp snorted and pushed himself to the edge of the berth, readying himself to get up. 

“Hey, whoa, just keep sitting. If you try getting up you're just gonna fall on me.” Jazz frowned and rested his hands on his hips. “So it's true then, your trine really is split?”

“Not your business.” That hissing tone was back and Jazz had to appreciate that Skywarp had at least some of his energy and life in him to do that. 

“It is when we've got Screamer laying out of commission at our base.” 

That got just the reaction he was hoping for. The expression that crossed Skywarp's face was one of pained hope and he reached for a cloth near his berth, wiping the condensation off his chassis before picking up a cube to drink. 

“Do you know why Starscream isn't online?  We don't have any trines.” Jazz kept his vocals soft as he looked up at Skywarp, silently imploring him to give some sort of information that would help. “We don't know how to help him.”

“Why would you want to help Starscream?” Skywarp hissed and started to reach for the blaster on his berthside table. The only reason Jazz didn't bother trying to stop him was because he could see how badly the Seeker was shaking. 

“I know, I know. Doesn't sound likely, and honestly, it confuses me too. But Skyfire wants him safe and healthy. And so does Optimus. Where you here when he hailed Megatron, wanting to garner a truce?”

Skywarp laughed and Jazz winced at the sound of it, silently horrified by the way the vocalizer scratched it out. The Seeker looked like he should be resting but Jazz had to keep pushing. 

“I was in the 'medical ward’.” Skywarp snarled, though there was little heat to it. “Those damned frontliners of yours grabbed me. Both of them, and managed to wreck merry havoc on my wings.”

Rubbing a finger along his lower lip, Jazz’s visor started to dim to a thin line as he considered this as well as the fighting that he had heard between Skywarp and Thundercracker.  

“So then, Thundercracker was probably with you for moral support, being that it’s a big damage being done.”

“Oh he was there.” Skywarp’s optics narrowed and he got up from his berth, legs shaking as he forced himself into an upright position.  His wings slowly pulled back and Jazz could see the marks on them from recent welds, telling that it might be a while before the Seeker was airborne again.  “He and Megatron, and Shockwave.”

Jazz’s helm snapped up and he felt his spark constrict when he saw the lopsided smile on Skywarp’s features.  The Seeker looked like he was going to fall over, but he was insistent on getting to the small cupboard just across from his berth.  Jazz gave him room as he opened up a drawer and took out a small ration of energon.  His fingers were slow to open it but Jazz waited, hoping for more information, and he wasn’t disappointed.

“Perfect opportunity for the Slagmaker.” Skywarp’s vocals lowered and he cut his optics at Jazz, his jaw tense as he related it.  “One Seeker imprisoned away in an Autobot cell, another damaged so badly that they can’t resist and the third wanting to climb the ranks even as he’s licking pedes.”

Jazz leaned back against the wall, ready to climb his way back up to the vents quickly in case Skywarp changed his mind about the conversation and just wanted to shoot him. “The first day Screamer was fine though.”

“Of course he was.  Shockwave wanted to do it immediately, but they couldn’t risk it with me being in surgery.  Had to wait until I had healed -just- enough.  So our favorite mad scientist… well the non human one at least, he just had to sit back and run the numbers until I was no longer under the influence of anesthetic and then he did what he does best.”

“He cut the trine apart at the spark?”

“Spark and processor.  Be glad you’ve never had him root around in your helm.” Skywarp tipped his helm back to drink his ration and then used both hands to steady himself on the cupboard, his legs still shaking faintly.

“You should be in berth.”  Much as he hated the cons, Jazz couldn’t help the pang of pity that he felt for the dark Seeker, watching the lines of condensation running down the other’s cockpit as he gathered himself.

“-I’m- fine.  I can survive.  But you said that Starscream isn’t online?” 

Jazz took a small step back, his pede bumping the wall when he was pinned with an angry glare from Skywarp.  There was a fury there that he had seen mirrored in Starscream’s own face when he had initially been captured and the saboteur’s spark flexed with worry as his processor continued to run over everything he had seen and heard.  

“Keep him there even if he wakes up.  Megatron will kill him if he gets back.” Skywarp stepped back to the berth, his hand a little steadier as he reached for his blaster once more.

“But how do we get him to wake up?” Jazz ventured forward a step, daring to spread an arm outwards to show he didn’t mean any harm.  “I just need answers.”

“Skyfire.  If anyone can wake him up, it’s that pissant pacifist.” Skywarp spit out the words like they were coals on his tongue.  “Now get -out- of here.”

He was flicking off the safety on his blaster and starting to raise it towards Jazz, so he decided that he had pressed his luck hard enough for the day.  Nodding in thanks, even if the information really wasn’t that much, Jazz easily scrambled back up to the vent and closed it after himself.  Silent as ever, he made his way through, knowing that eventually Skywarp would turn around and send out an alert that he was on the Nemesis.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prowl lifted his helm when the static filled message came to him and he let his optics cut to the side before slipping inside the storage room, closing the door behind him with a faint frown.  ::Jazz?::

::Get Skyfire in with Starscream and get Wheeljack and Perceptor into the briefing room, we’ve got more than one problem.::

::Understood.  How soon will you be back to the Ark?::

::I’ll be home in a few clicks, don’t worry.  So far no one’s tailing me.  Haven’t seen hide nor hair of any of Soundwave’s creepy little minions.::

Prowl allowed himself the small smile since he was in private.  Leave it to his friend to find the most amusing ways to relate what should be a boring briefing.  Taking a deep vent, he pulled out a data pad and started to review the stock in the storage room, counting down the inventory and making a tally of additions that they would need with Starscream potentially staying with them and upcoming fighting that they were bound to see because of all of this.  He was starting to think that with the time his people were spending on Earth they should invest in the land as both a way to collect currency and try to help replenish the planet from the destruction that their fighting had brought on.  Skyfire, Perceptor and Tracks would likely be the best to talk about in regards to how they should proceed on that front and he made another note to talk to each of them separately before going to Optimus about it.

Despite the alarm that had gone off earlier that day, calling out some of the troops to an oil rig in Atlantic waters, it wasn’t a bad day so far.  He might even dare to say that things were looking up.

Hearing a knock at the door, Prowl blinked and flicked a hand to dismiss the lock on it, not the slightest bit embarrassed when he saw that Ratchet was there scowling at him.

“Honestly, do you need to lock the door just to check the supplies?”

“Must have been an accident.” 

Ratchet snorted and shook his head.  Nothing with Prowl was an accident, everything was calculated down to the decimal point.  Which was exactly why the medic wasn’t going to ask just what was going on that he would need to lock that door.

“We should still have some wax in here, right?  I swear there was a few cans left in the back.” Ratchet made his way past the tech specialist and smiled as he found what he was looking for, making a mark on the inventory list, a gleam in his optics.

“You don’t usually go for a high gloss finish.” Prowl ventured, looking at the can curiously.

“That’s right, I don’t.” Ratchet chirped back cheerfully and tucked the can in his subspace for safe keeping.

“But you’ve decided to switch things up?” 

“Nope!” There was a bounce in Ratchet’s step now and his hips had a faint sway to them when he turned and strut out the door.

Prowl blinked in confusion as the medic grinned and walked out the door, tilting his head like a confused puppy.  Maybe it was a gift?  But there was no one that he had seen Ratchet getting comfortable with….

::Red Alert?  Who has Ratchet been paying extra attention to?::


End file.
